Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1888-03-17
A MEXICAN MONKEY HUNT.
THE DIFFICULTIES MET IN CAPT
URING THE LITTLE ANIMALS.
Keen-Eyed Monkey Hounds of the
Sierra Caliente-Bananas Soaked
in Brandy Make Capture Easy


in Brandy Make Capture Easy
The fruit-planters of the Sierra Cali
ante keep "monkey hounds "-gaunt,
xeen-eyed brutes-that reconnoitre the
fences of the plantations with the regu
larity of military patrol, and have
been trained to intercept the fugitivei
in their retreat to the woods. But the
monos often contrive to defeat sucE
tactics. They cross the enclosure at the
first peep of dawn, entering the garder
with extreme circumspection, besides
posting a sentry in the top of con
venient tree; and New York Alder
man might envy their talent for exhaust
ing the business opportunities of a lin.
tied term. In less than five minute:
they manage to fill their stomacbs, az
well as their cheek pouches and at least
two of their four hands, and recros5 the
fence before the hounds have started IN
pursuit.
At safe distance from the scene oi
the forage the marauders will huddle to.
gether to compare notes and redlvide
their spoils after a code of prestige
which the Junior members of the tribe
seem to accept as a matter of course.
After Incorporating his own share,
eupeptic patriarch has no hesitation IN
snatching the savings of his nepkews;
but in his turn will at once proceed to
deeds of violence if he should catch
them IT, any act of retaliation. l re-
member an old gray-whiskered glutton,
munchirg a ten-inch banana while he
hugged two reserve specimens, and
at last bethought himself of be-
striding them in order to get
his hands free. He had four of them.
bat only one pair of eyes, and. while he
scrutinized the covetous faces in front,
one of his victims slipped up from be-
hind and with q sudden wrench ierked
those bananas from under his launches.
| The sachem dropped on his hands, and
| for moment glared about almost speech
less with rage, but then gathering him
self up, he leaped to the ground and
raced after the offender with the energy
of an Anoover hereto hunter.
In Chatham street, New York, the
price OF pet capuchin monkey varies
| from SO to $15. In Acapulco Sl3
pair is fair average, while monkey
skins could be bought for as many dimes
dozen. The Mexican mono, though
not the shyest of American four r-haaders,
is harder to trap than the weariest fox,
and seems TO discover the mechanism OF
J a snare by sort of sixth sense; for,
after all kinds of experiments, the most
successful methods of the native pet
, faaciers are still the pea rifle plan and
tine brandy plan. The former consists in
killing nursing she-monkey by close
aimed shot and capturing her babies
(often twins in the arms of their dead
mother. The brandy -trapper soaks lot
of bananas in mixture OF sugar and
alcohol, and after distributing his bait
near the favorIte haunts Of his game,
he hides behind a tree and awaits
results.
The main difficulty lies in calculating
the proper strength of the mixture, as
| its overpercentage of alcohol is apt to
friohten the guests by its virulent taste;
weak compound may begin to operate
only after th revelers have retreated to
their inaccessible roosts in the heart OF
the Jungle forest. Amateur trappers are,
! therefore, often Obliged to repeat then
experiments for weeks before they can
bag the desirable trophy in the shape OF
a befuddled ringtailed squealer. THERE'S
third method, practiced on large
plantations, with the aid of trained
hounds, who, by long watching and CO.
operative tactics, may succeed in freeing
a marauding monkey and giving the
hi .nters chance to capture him by means
| of troske-net.
+, In the primeval wood Of Oaxaca and
Jalisco have noticed that the appear
ance of man excites the curiosity rather
than the dread of his arboreal cousins.
| They will follow him for half-miles,
with chatter quite distinct from the
panic screams awakened by the sight OF
4 a panther. and if he should try the ex-
pertinent of taking a seat at the foot OF
a tree, and remaining quiet for a quarter
of an hour, the long tailed investigators
are quite apt to congregate in the lower
branches of that very tree, every now
and then peeping down and exchanging
| looks with sort of solemn whisper.
Dogs, on the other hand, are at once
suspected of wolfish propensities, hostile
TO the interests alike of men and
MONKEYS, and chat mistake may have &C.
casioned the curious scenes witnessed by
Colonel Simon Hernandez, of the Mexi-
can Typographical Survey, and described
Ill lllt dDpCuutA VI OlliNAoA ANBSA1.
his bivouac on the Upper Sumasinta
River he had engaged the services of an
Indian boy, who carried his instruments,
land with his naked feet made his way
through the thorniest jungle, but one
day was so overcome by fatigue that he
fell asleep in the shade of caucho tree.
The Colonel was cleining his top boots
in little pond few hundred steps from
that tree, when his attention was attracted
bv loud screams in the tree-tops, and,
looking back, he was surprised to see
troop OF Cebus monkeys leaping from
branch TO branch Of that caucho, till at
last half dozen Of them jumped TO the
ground and made simultaneous rush in
a dir. ction where the Colonel's hound
was nosing about in the uuderbrush. In
his first surprise the dog actually turned
tail, when his aggressors at once stopped,
and. bristling with dread and excitement.
surrounded that caucho tree with the
evident intention of defending their