Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1897-11-18
MAN AND THE MONKEY.
Scientific Notes on the Points of Re
semblance and Difference.

ences, from which the following facts
were CLEANED:
The monkeys of the old world differ
so radically from those of the new
world that 1t has been claimed they
should not be classed together, but
represent distinct lines of descent.
Monkeys of the South American type
appeared in Patagonia at a time when
South America had nothing else in COM
mon with the northern hemisphere.
1t is very rare to find whole group
of mammals peculiar to either the east
eIn or western hemisphere.
There was a time when North and
South America had nothing in COM
mon-not a single species, family, or
hardly an order. South American ro-
dents all belonged to the porcupine
species
BY studying the fossil deposits 1t is
perfectly easy to see when the Isthmus
of Panama was upheaved- the
cats, badgers, coons, wolves and other
animals made their way into South
America.
The fact of finding in this isolated
American monkeys looks as If they
might easily be a distinct series that
came of independently of the old
world.
The differences between South Amer
lean and old world monkeys seem rather
trifing, and yet they are wonderfully
constant, as they are never trans
gressed.
The South American monkeys all have
prehensile tails, as the spider monkey.
Old world monkeys cannot use the
tail IN grasping.
Old world monkeys agree with man
IN having two premolar teeth, while
the South American monkey has
three.
Counting those behind the great
canine teeth, the South American mon
key has six, whereas in the old world
monkey 1t is invariably five, as In
| man.
South American monkeys all have ex-
ceedingly fiat noses, so that the nostrils
present outwards; the group, in fact,
being called platyrhine (meaning fat
Hosed), whereas the old world monkeys
are the catarhine, with nostrils pre-
senting downward like mans.
Among the many known varieties of
Brazilian, and especially Amazonian,
monkeys there is universal aversion
to water, refusing to cross streams
unless compelled TO. They never ap-
pear In the open ground and in their
arboreal pilgrimages their skill and
certainty of leaping is amazing. They
swing from tree to tree and go through
whole forest, never touching ground,
with the same ease that the ordinary
quadruped travels on terra firma
Old world monkeys represent dis
tinctly higher type. They are arboreal
In habit, except in balloons.
Baboons live among the rocks and
walk on all fours, the proportionate
length of fore and hind leg being that
Of the quadruped, though they are
quadrumanous (having the opposing
great toe on the fore and hind feet).
The baboon's skull is oval, accom-
panied by great elongation of jaw.
The nearer the facial line assumes
right angle with the horizontal the
higher the type is regarded, the Greek
skull, In which the forehead and nose
make one straight vertical line, being /
regarded as the ideal of perfection. I
In "hydrocephalous" ian African
monkey of the ordinary kind) we have
the extreme of pronachism, its face
being much shorter in proportion than
the baboon's, and the facial angle near
ly As degrees
The brain-case in the ascending scale
grows enormously, this development be-
ing to the higher part of the brain,
called the cerebral hemisphere.
Ascending to the anthropoid apes,
the facial angle is deeper, the jaws
project less, and in the character of the
teeth and whole shape of the jawbone
there is considerable approach to the
human.
A comparison of structure shows as
tonishingly little difference between
man and the anthropoid apes. It is
difiicult to draw up definition of one
group that will entirely exclude the
other.
The cerebellum Qower brain) in all
the other mammals-even in dogs and
horses-is always in view; but in man
and the anthropoid apes is covered up,
and to see 1t one must press the hem
ispheres apart, or take the brain upside
down and view it from below.
In the structure of the feet, of the
and of the character of the
teeth the anthropoid apes and man are
exceedingly close together; yet it is
not In the least degree likely that man
Is descended from any of the anthro-
poid apes.
The gorilla (about the highest of
the anthropoid ape type) shows tre-
development of the ridges over
the eye, its brain-case not extending
over the ear at all.
All the anthropoid apes retain the
structure of the hind feet as distinct
from the hand, characterizing the four
handed type; namely, the opposable
great toe acting like a thumb.
The monkeys use the hind hand Just
Is much as they do the fore. Such
loot is an arboreal foot, developed to
tree, and there is not the slight
EST indication in the human foot that
,ne developed from the other.
The savage uses his toes with greater
freedom than civilized man, because
lie has never cramped his toes; but
here is never the slightest tendency in
my race of man to bring the great toe !
Iround in different plane.
Though a certain race of savages {
lraws the bow with one foot and pulls |
he string with the hand, the human
DOT is developed for walking on the /
round, and not for climbing about y
md holding to the branches of trees q
st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Unfortunate Slang.
"I can see her finish ~ remarked the | !