Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-06-01
A DIssIPATED CHICAGO ANTHRo-
pOID

| ing dogs. Its practice was 10 take
position on the fence near the front
gate, and lie in wait patiently until
| canine came by. when. without warning
! II would leap nimbly upon tha poor
creatures back, bury its sharp nails IN
| the quivering flesh. and as quickly ieap
| back 10 the fence There was something
| humanlike in its grin Of satisfaction as
| its sharp Httle eyes followed tn mo
| roughly frightened and yelpng brute in
| a mad flight down the street.
naval officer OF the United states.
| travelling In Abyssinia, encountered seYc-
| raj varieties OF the guenons, genus tnat
| pertains to equatorial Africa. all OF when
are noted for their beauty They are
saucy. and full OF infinite mischief, one
| OF them once entering his tent In ms
| absence and mixed up his medicines IN
| n dreadful manner. the officer having lett
| bottles Of qUinine. magnesia, aloes' etc,
upon the ground. What bottles the
merry sprite could not uncork IL ruth
lessly smashed and al their contents,
| very precious I'm that dsease-breeding
country. were Loot forever The culprit
was found an hour later at tho foot OF
! palm tree, desperately sick from over
| doses Of the drugs The officer captured
| IT, and would have made OF II pet but
| for Its thievng and destructlvr prOpensi-
Ties. This SuenOn was cholerN. but us
anger soon passed. When enraged II had
a manner Of drawing back its ears like
dog In q passion.
Mscaques connect the guenons with tha
| balloons. which end the Old World group
| Aldl UtElNt Win the FOFlild. nut Two
| OF the latter were ever taken alive 10
| Europe, one 10 Stuttgart and the other
| 70 Berlin. America IL yet to greet the
| first one. The savage nature Of this beast
| he's been greatly exaggerated, and II the
| natives Of Africa did not stand In such
awe OF them there Is no reason In the
world why they might not be captured
| and shipped 10 other countries. CHM
panZees have found their way 10 this
| country and these are the most interest
ing and intelligent OF the ape family.
Orang-outanes and gibbons may be seen
| in the larger collections Of animals in
! America, as well az ia Europe. But the
apes, like the monkeys, do not long sur
NiVc captivity IN colder countries. They
are creatures OF warmth and sunshine
| and chill weather speedily consigns them
TO death Hunting stories told Of fierce
encounters with g0rillas. Chlmpanzees
ana orang outancs may generally be
down 10 the credit Of the Imagination
OF those who write them.
PREHENsILE CHILDREN OF THE
TROPICS.
Monkeys that are seen in museums and
menageri's in this country are chiefly
from South America. although Africa Is
fairlr wei represented. European natu-
raiists who have seen and studied the
American monkeys only In captivity in
The countries Of the writers invariably
refer 10 them as less intelligent and less
playful than other members ~ the great
family. These writer's appear 10 fOrR
or Israel In strange land. These chill
dren Of the wild woods Of the American
tropics never fully recover from thu pains
and terrors OF an ocean voyage. and they
are shocked out Of all eayety by the
chill and damp air Of Europe He VINO
has seen them rOllicking, leapng. riot
ously playing, chattsrine. and gri1ning
IN their native wilds. and who has OBJ
served the acuteness. intelligence. astutc-
ness, and secretiVeness with which they
make raid upon plantations and
most miSChievous. playful, and sagaciOus
creatures in all the earth. Their Tesem-
blarce 10 man is absolutely startling. the
baby chimpanzee, not the adult alone OF
all the Old World group. Offering any
thing TO compare with thtm This re-
semblance becomes more striking when.
as consumption advances, the face grows
pensiVe and melancholy, and seems 10
nave the agony OF q soul written upO1
tn wrinkles and lines of the counte-
nance The writer shot one OF the crea-
lures, and one only a cOaita (Ateles
nanifcusl IN a big forest a few miles
memory Of the deed still broods as an
avenging Nemesis.
These creatures are found in greatest
numbers along the upper waters Of the
Amazon, but they range nearly. or quite.
10 tho Atlantic sca-cOast They have long,
coarse. glossy black hair. while their
faces are G reddish hesh-coor. They are
thumblcss. Ike the African colObOs, and
exceedingly agile. The day was very
hot. as all days are at Para, and. weary
from pursuit Of the agile creatures /
finally placed my rife 10 the shoulder.
and fired, IN sort OF desperation. at
dusky creature as IL was flying through
the air from one trcetOp 10 another The
distance was 80 great that the native
GUIDE uttered grunt OF surprise, "a
well as Of satisfaction, when the fight
Of the cOaita was arrested and IL tumbled
headlong 70 the ground.
fastening 10 the spot, / reached fol-
hat 10 4
pended upon the act, l could not have
touched the creature The word muir
dered' seemed to be Kissed into my
stunned ears. The creature lay upon the
damp ground, with upturned face that
was positively human, while a groan.
Ike that Of man, burst from its thin
lips. II required no imagination 10 endue
IL with humanity. In a moment II was
dead. but that reproachful face, the tiny
pallid, innocent suffering face has been
in dreaming and waking moments a thou
sand times since. The native suffered
no qualms, even after eating. as he did,
the major portion Of the creature TO- his
supper The coaita Is often seen In cap
tivty in this country.
The most curious OF all the American
family is the genus of hOwleTs (myCetesD.
These creatures correspond. I'm a mea-
sure, TO certain OF the gibbons. which APP
pear 10 sing In a sort OF unison. while
the howlcrs really do sing. They make
chorus whose swell runs three or four
miles in every direction. and causes an
imaginative person 10 think that every
J beast of the forest Is engaged in a deadly
contest and putting forth his most tire
less effort 10 frighten away his adver-
sary by resounding cries. The howlers
are 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 merc-
less war upon them. In fact. the natives
are inordnately fond of any sort OF mon
key meat which they Will eat three times
a or hnN .
howlers are the largest % the New World
monkeys. being three feet long, exclusive
Of their ample prehensile tails.
The lagothryXes offer a species. the ca
paro. whose features are startingly like
those Of negro, the head being round
and large, while the face is ebOn i'm its
blacknesS and entirely naked. IL IS scarce
~ more than half the length of the
bowler, but is said, unlike all other South
American monkeys, 10 frequently stand
upon its hind legs, and when IL does its
resemblance 10 the negro Is complete. In
dams hunt and kin IL with blowpipe
arrows. The Caparros travel about
great deal, chiefly from tree 10 tree, and
on these Journeys the mothers carry their
young upon their backs-not In their
arms, as Is the ordinary practice OF mon
key mothers.
TAKES THE CAKE FOR INTELLI-
GENCE.
Probably the most intelligent, and GER
tainly the most tractable, OF all the Amer
lean monkeys is the chameck, a native of
Brazil, II soon learns TO recognize and
love its master, and is capable OF supe-
rior training. The creature IS striking.
and, indeed, very pretty for monkey.
the fur being long and falling down
gracefully over the body and limbs and
being nearly uniformly black in color
Like all Of the New World monkeys thus
far named, its tail is its fifth hand. and,
indeed IS far more useful than any one
OF the other four
Representatives OF the large families Of
spider and capuchin monkeys are what
one sees most In collections in the United
States. They offer great variety in color
ing and size, but are by no means the
handsomest or most intelligent tyres.
The capuchins are red-faced. round
headed, small, active, graceful and long
tailed They conclude the prehensile-
tailed grouping and are followed by the
dainty and exceedingly pretty squirrel
monkeys, the highest type OF which is the
golden-haired chrysothrix The night
monkeys and those queer-loOking crea-
latter always a favorite among monkey
fanciers, because OF their winning and
affectionate ways
Monkeys are-well, monkeys. They look
like men, and some OF them behave better
than certain members OF human society
Unless one have deep-seated fellow
feeling for all creatures OF God, ne had
better be content with occasional visits TO
the monkeys in the gardens and museums
Too constant association with them Is
rather trying TO ones patience. and the
amusingness OF their tricks, which are
usually repetitions, does not repay one
aaarrN. N..N a.