The National tribune., 1895-08-15

/
they range nearly OF quite to the Atlantic sea
| coast They have long. coarse, glossy black
| hair, while their faces are reddish flesh color
| They are thumbless. like the African colobos
and exceedingly agile. =
The day was very hot, as all days are at Para
and, weary from pursnit;of the agile creatures
/ finally placed my rifle to the shoulder and
fired in a sort OF desperation at q dusky crea
ture. as it was flying through the air from one
treetop 10 another. The sdisance was so great
that the native guide uttered grunt OF sur
prise, as well as of satisfaction, when the nigh
of the coaita was arrested and il tumbled head
long to the ground.
fastening 10 the spot. reached forward my
hand to seize it, but if life depended upon the
act could not have touched the creature. The
word murdered seemed to be Missed into my
stunned ears. The creature lay upon the damp
ground with upturned face that was positively
human, while a groan like that of q man burst
forth from its thin lips.
1t required no Imagination to endue it with
humanity. In q moment it was dead, but that
reproachful face, the tiny, paliid, innocent,
suffering face, has been in dreaming and wax
ing moments a thousand times since. The
native suffered no gualms, even after eating. as
he did, the ma or portion of the creature for his
supper. The coaita is often seen in captivity
in this country.
The most curious Of all the American family
is the genus of howlers (mycetes). These crea-
lures correspond, in measure to certain OF the
gibbons, which appear 10 sing in sort OF uni
sou, while the hower5 really do sing. They
make n chorus whose swell runs out three or
four miles in every direction, and causes an
imaginative person TO think that every beast
Of tic forest is engaged in deadly contest aud
putting forth his most tireless effort to righten
away his adversary by rcsoundiug cries.
The howlers arc among the more numerous
OF the South American genera, and offer several
species for admiration. The Indians are very
fond of them-dead, and make merciless war
upon them. In fact, the natives are inordi-
pately fond of any sort of monkey meat, which
they will eat three tmcs day or oftener if
they can get it. The howlcrs the largest of
the New World monkeys being three feet long,
exclusive of their ample prehensle tails.
The lagothryxes offer a SPECIES, the caparro,
whose features are startingly like those of n
negro the head being round and large, while
the face is cbon in its blackness, and entirely
naked. 1t is scarcely more than half the length
of the howler, but it is said, unlike all other
South American monkeys to frequently stand
upon its hind legs, and when it does it's resem-
biance TO the negro is complete.
Indians hunt aud kill il with blowpipe
out of which they shoot little poisoned arrows
Tho caparros travel about great deal, chiefly
from tree to tree, and on these journeys tho
mothers carry their young upon their backs
not on their arms. as the ordinary practise of
monkey mothers.
Probably the most intelligent and certainly
the most tractabc of all the American monkeys
is tho chameck. native of Brazil. 1t soon
learns to recognize and love its master, and is
capable of superior training. The creature is
striking, aud, indeed. very pretty for a monkey,
the fur being long and falling down gracefully
over the body and limbs. end being nearly
uniformly black in color. Like all OF the New
World monkeys thus far named. its tail is it's
fifth hand, anu indeed, is far moro useful than
any one of the other four.
Representatives of the largo families of spider
aud capuchin monkeys are what one sees most
in collections in the United States. They
offer great variety in coloring and size. but
by no means the handsomest or most intelligent
types
The capuchins are red-faced, round headed,
small. active graceful, ami long-taled. They
conclude the prehensie-tailed grouping, and
are followed by the dainty and exceedingly
pretty squirrel monkeys, the highest type of
which is the goden-hai red chrysothrix.
The night monkeys and those quecr-ooking
creatures the marmosetos, end the list, the
latter always a favorite among monkey fam
cicrs, because of their winning aud affectiouate
ways.
Monkeys are-weIl. Monkeys They look
Inc Btll. ANU hDIlt VI lHtlH BcHdfb b@bttl tlfh
certain members of human society. Unlcss one
have a deep-seatcd fellow-fecling Tor all crea-
lures of God. he had better be content with oc-
casonai visits to the monkeys i'll the gardens
and museums. sria.
Too constant association with them is rather
trying to ones patience, and the amusiagness
of their tricks, which are usually repetltiOns,
does not repay one for the mischief they do.
the petusucc they exhibit Take them all in
oil .iaI
pride in trying to trace a family relationship
with them. The monkey opinion o. this mat
ter is yet to be expressed, however.-C Chicago
Duly Tribune.