Part 14
The animal which Marcgrave calls _exquima_ is very similar to the _coaita_, and, perhaps, is only a variety of that species. This author seems to have been deceived when he said that the exquima was a native of Guinea and Congo. The figure he has given of it, is alone sufficient to demonstrate his error; for the animal is there represented with a tail curled at the extremity, a character which belongs solely to the sapajous; consequently, the exquima of Marcgrave is not, as he tells us, a monkey of Guinea, but a sapajou with a prehensile tail, which, without doubt, had been transported there from Brasil. The word _exquima_, or _quima_, expunging the article _ex_, ought to be pronounced _quoima_, and then it is not very distant from _quoaita_, which is written coaita by many authors. Every circumstance, therefore, concurs to prove, that this _exquima_ of Marcgrave was a sapajou of Brasil, and only a variety of the coaita, which it resembles in nature, size, colour, and the prehensile tail. The only material difference consists in the exquima having a whitish hair on the belly, and a white beard under the chin, about two inches long. Our coaitas have neither this white hair nor the beard: but what makes me still presume that this difference is not sufficient to constitute two distinct species is the testimonies of travellers, who tell us, that there are both black and white coaitas, and that some of them have beards, and others are without.
"There are (says Dampier) in the isthmus of America, great numbers of monkeys, some of which are white, but the most of them black; some have beards, others none: they are of a middling size, and in dry weather when the fruits are in season they are very fat; their flesh is then extremely good, and we ate great numbers of them, which example was after a time followed by the Indians, who were shy of eating them at first. In the rainy seasons these animals have a quantity of worms in their bowels, and I have seen some of them several feet long.--These monkeys are very droll, and played a thousand grotesque tricks as we traversed the woods; leaping from branch to branch with their young upon their backs, making faces, chattering, and even seeking opportunities to make water upon our heads. When they are unable to leap from one tree to another, on account of the distance, their dexterity is very surprising; they form a kind of chain, hanging down by each other's tails; one of them holding the branch above, the rest swing to and fro like a pendulum, until the undermost is enabled to catch hold of the branches of the other tree, when the first lets go his hold and thus comes undermost in his turn; and then, by degrees, they all get upon the branches of the tree without ever coming to the ground." All these particulars perfectly agree with our coaitas. M. Daubenton, in his dissection of these animals, found a great quantity of worms in their entrails, some of which were from twelve to thirteen inches long. We cannot, therefore, have any doubt but that the exquima of Marcgrave is a sapajou of the same, or at least of a very proximate species to that of the coaita.
We must likewise observe, that if the animal indicated by Linnæus, under the name of _diana_, be, in fact, as he says, the exquima of Marcgrave, he has omitted the prehensile tail, which is the most essential character, and which alone will decide whether this diana belong to the sapajou or monkey genus, and of course, whether it be found in the Old or New Continent.
Independently of this variety, the characters of which are very apparent, there are other varieties, though less striking, in the species of the coaita. That described by Brisson had whitish hair on all the lower parts of the body, while those which we have seen were entirely black, and had but very little hair on those parts, the skin being plainly seen, which was also of a black colour. One of the two coaitas spoken of by Mr. Edwards was black, and the other brown: they are termed, says he, _spider monkeys_, on account of their tail and limbs being so very long and slender.
Some years ago a coaita was presented to me by the name of _chameck_, which I was informed came from the coast of Peru. I had it measured, and made a description of it, in order to compare it with that which M. Daubenton had given of the coaita, and immediately discovered that this chameck of Peru, a few varieties excepted, is the same animal as the coaita of Guiana.
The sapajous are very sagacious and dexterous: they go in companies, and mutually warn and assist each other. Their tail serves them exactly like a fifth hand; and they seem even to employ that more than either their hands or feet. Nature by this addition seems to have recompensed them for the want of a thumb. It is asserted that they catch fish with this long tail, and which does not appear incredible, for we have seen one of our coaita's lay hold of a squirrel, which had been put into the same apartment, with his tail, and drag him out. Russel, in his History of Jamaica, speaking of this animal, says, "this creature has no more than four fingers to each of its fore paws: but the top of the tail is smooth underneath, and on this it depends for its chief actions, for the creature holds every thing by it, and flings itself with the greatest ease from every tree and branch by its means. It is a native of the main continent, and a part of the food of the Indians." They have the address to break the shell of the oysters, in order to eat them; and it is certain that many of them suspend themselves to the tail of each other, either to pass over a brook, or to swing from one tree to another. The females bring forth only one or two young ones at a time, which they always carry on their backs. They feed upon fish, worms, and insects, but fruit is their common food, and they grow fat when it is ripe, when, it is said, their flesh is good and exquisite eating.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The coaita has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on the posteriors: he has a very long prehensile tail. The partition of the nostrils is very thick, and the apertures are placed on the side, and not under the nose. He has only four fingers on his hands or fore-feet: his hair and skin are black: his face is naked and tawny: his ears are also naked, and of the same form as the human race. He is about a foot and a half long, and his tail is longer than the head and body together; he walks on all fours.
The exquima is nearly of the same size as the coaita, and, like that animal, has a prehensile tail; his hair, however, is not black, but variegated. There are some which are black and brown on the back and white on the belly, with a very remarkable beard. These differences, however, are not sufficient to constitute two different species, especially as there are coaitas not entirely black, but which have a whitish hair on the throat and belly.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
THE SAJOU.[X]
[Footnote X: This word is abridged from _cayouvassou_ or _sajouassou_; the names by which these animals are called at Maragnon.]
We are acquainted with two varieties in this species, the Brown Sajou, (_fig. 214._) commonly called the _capuchin monkey_; and the Grey Sajou, which differs from the other only in the colour of its hair. They are of the same size, the same shape, and the same disposition: both are lively, active, and very amusing, by their tricks and nimbleness. We have had them alive; and of all the sapajous they appeared to be those with which the temperature of our climate seemed least to disagree. They live here for many years without much trouble, provided they are kept in a warm room during winter. We can even give examples of their producing in this country. Two were brought forth at Madame de Pompadour's, at Versailles, one at M. de Reamur's, at Paris, and another at Madame de Poursel's, in Gatinois; but these were only single productions, whereas in their own climate they often bring forth two. These sajous are very fantastical in their tastes and affections: they are extremely fond of some persons, and have as great an aversion for others.
We observed a singularity in these animals, which causes the females to be often taken for the males. The clitoris is prominent outwardly, and is as much seen as the sexual organ of the male.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The sajous have neither pouches on the sides of their jaws, nor callosities on their posteriors. Their face and ears are of a flesh colour, with a little down on them. The partition of the nostrils is thick, and their apertures are placed pretty close to each other. Their tail is prehensile, naked underneath at the extremity, and very bushy over every other part. Some have black and brown hair, as well about the face as on all the upper parts of the body. Others are grey about the face, and of a light brown on the body. Their hands are always black and naked. They are but a foot long from the extremity of the muzzle to the insertion of the tail. They walk on all fours.[Y]
[Footnote Y: In a description of M. Vosmaër, printed at Amsterdam in 1770, there is an account of a _singular species of the flying American ape_, &c. which, however, appears to be the same animal as our brown sajou.]
THE SAI.
Of the Sai (_fig. 215._) we have seen two which seem to make a variety in the species. The hair of the first was a deep brown, and that of the second, which we have called the _White-throated Sai_, has white hair on the breast, neck, and round the ears, and cheeks; and it differs also from the first, in its face being less hairy; but in other respects they perfectly resemble each other; being of the same disposition, size, and shape. Travellers have described these animals by the name of _weepers_, from their plaintive moan. Others have called them _musk monkeys_, because like the maucauco they have a musky odour. They have likewise been termed macaque, borrowed from the animals so called in Guinea; but the macaque is a monkey with a flaccid tail; while the animals we are speaking of belong to the sapajous, their tails being prehensile. The females have only two teats, and bring forth but one or two at a time. They are gentle, docile, and so timid, that their common cry, which resembles that of a rat, becomes a kind of groaning when they are threatened with danger. Their food in this climate is principally snails and beetles, which they prefer to any other; but in their native country of Brasil, they chiefly live upon grain and wild fruits which they pluck from the trees, from whence they seldom descend till they have stripped their habitation of its treasure.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The sai has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on his posteriors. The partition of the nostrils is very thick, and the apertures are placed on the side, and not beneath the nose. The face is round and flat, and the ears almost naked. The tail is prehensile and naked towards the extremity. The hair on the upper part of the body is a deep brown, and on the lower parts, of a yellowish grey. These animals are not above fourteen inches long, and their tails are longer than the head and body together. They walk always on four feet. The females are not subject to the periodical emanation.
THE SAIMIRI.
The Saimiri is commonly known by the name of the _Aurora_, the _Orange_, or _Yellow Sapajou_. It is very common at Guiana, for which reason many travellers have styled it the _Cayenne Sapajou_. From the gracefulness of its motions, the smallness of its size, the brilliant colour of its coat, the fullness and brightness of its eyes, and its small round visage, the saimiri has ever taken the lead of every other sapajou, and it is, in fact, the most beautiful and pleasing of this tribe; but it is also the most delicate and the most difficult to transport and preserve. From these characters, and particularly from that of the tail, which may be said to be but half prehensile, for though it makes use of it to climb up trees, yet it can neither strongly hold, nor firmly fix itself by it, it seems to form the shade between the sapajous and the sagoins.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The saimiri has neither pouches on each side the cheeks, nor callosities on the posteriors. The partition which divides the nostrils is thick, and the apertures are placed on the side and not under the nose. He may be said to have no forehead. His hair is of a bright yellow colour; and he has two flesh-coloured rings round the eyes. His nose is elevated at the root, and flat towards the nostrils. The mouth is small, the face flat and naked, and the ears are garnished with hair and a little pointed. The tail is half-prehensile and longer than the body. He is scarcely more than ten or eleven inches in length. He stands on his hind feet with great ease, but he commonly walks on all fours.
THE SAKI.
The Saki, (_fig. 216._) commonly called the _Fox-tailed Monkey_, from its tail being cloathed with very long hair, is the largest of the sagoins, being above seventeen inches long when full grown, whereas the largest of the other five species is not above nine or ten. The saki has very long hair on its body, and still longer on its tail: its face is red, and covered with a whitish down: it is easy to be known and distinguished from every other sagoin, sapajou, or monkey, by the following characters:
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The saki has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is not prehensile but flaccid, and half as long again as his head and body. The apertures of the nostrils are placed on the side of the nose, and the partition is very thick. The face is brown, and covered with a fine short, whitish down. The hair on the upper parts of the body is of a deep brown, and those of the lower of a reddish white. The hair is very long on the body, and still longer on the tail, extending near two inches beyond the point; this hair on the tail is generally of a deep brown colour. There seems to be a variety in this species with respect to colour, as there are sakis to be met with whose hair is of a reddish yellow colour. This animal goes on all fours, and is about a foot and an half long, from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail. The females of this species have not the periodical emanation.
THE TAMARIN.
This is the name which the animal bears in Cayenne: it is called the little black monkey by some, and the great-eared monkey by others. It is much smaller than that which we have just described, and differs from it in many characters, particularly in the tail, which is cloathed only with short hair, whereas that of the saki is furnished with very long. The tamarin has also large ears and yellow feet. It is a pretty and lively animal, and very easily tamed, but so exceedingly delicate as to be unable long to resist the intemperance of our climate.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The tamarin has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, and as long again as his head and body. The partitions between the nostrils are very thick, and the apertures are on the sides, and not under the nose. The face is of a dark flesh colour. The ears are square, large, naked, and of the same colour, and the eyes are of a chesnut. The upper lip is slit, nearly like that of the hare. The body, head, and tail, are covered with a dark brown hair, and the hands and feet with a short hair of an orange colour. The body and legs are well proportioned. He walks on all fours, and measures not above seven or eight inches in length, his head included.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
THE OUISTITI.[Z]
[Footnote Z: So called from a noise made by this animal which has that sound.]
This animal (_fig. 217._) is smaller than the tamarin, being not above six inches long, including the head; his tail is more than double that length, and annulated with black and white rings, like that of the maucauco, yet at the same time it is more bushy than that animal's. The face of the ouistiti is naked, and of a flesh colour. He has two very singular tufts of long white hair on the fore part of the ears, which entirely conceals them when we look at the animal full in the face. Mr. Parsons has given a good description of this animal in the Philosophical Transactions; and Mr. Edwards has given a very good figure of it: he speaks of having seen several of them, and says that the largest did not weigh above six ounces, and the smallest only four and a half: he very judiciously observes, that the supposition of the small Ethiopian monkey, which Ludolph speaks of by the name of _fonkes_, or _guereza_, being the same animal as the ouistiti, has no foundation. It is very certain that neither the ouistiti, nor any other sagoin, is to be met with in Ethiopia; and it is very probable that the _fonkes_, or _guereza_, of Ludolph, is either the _maucauco_, or the _loris_, which are common in the southern parts of the Old Continent. Edwards farther says, that when the ouistiti (sanglin) is in good health he has a great deal of hair, and very bushy; that one of those which he saw, and which was healthy, fed upon several things, as biscuits, fruits, herbs, insects, and snails; that being one day unchained, he darted at a little gold fish in a glass globe, which he killed, and devoured with the greatest avidity; that afterwards some small eels were presented him, which frightened him at first, by twisting about his neck, but that he soon conquered and ate them. Mr. Edwards adds a fact which proves that these little animals might be multiplied in the southern parts of Europe. He says that they produced young in Portugal, where the climate is favourable to them. At first they have an ugly appearance, having scarcely any hair on their bodies; and they cling close to the teats of their dam. When they grow a little older they fix themselves on her back or shoulders, and when she is weary of carrying she releases herself by rubbing them off against the wall, which being done, the father, if he is by, will allow them to get upon his back.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The ouistiti has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, very bushy, with alternate annulated bars of black and white, or rather brown and grey, and is as long again as the head and body. The partition of the nostrils is very thick, and the apertures are placed at the side. The head is round, and cloathed with black hair above the forehead, and above the nose is a white spot without hair. His face is almost all naked, and of a deep flesh colour. He has a tuft of long white hair on each side of the head before the ears. His ears are round, flat, thin, and naked. His eyes are of a chesnut colour. His body is covered with a soft, grey, ash-coloured hair; his throat, breast, and belly, of a light grey, with a slight tincture of yellow. He walks on all fours, and is often not above six inches long. The females are not subject to the periodical emanation.
THE MARIKINA.
The Marikina (_fig. 218._) is commonly known by the name of the little Lion Ape. We reject this compound denomination, because the marikina is not an ape but a sagoin, and no more resembles the lion than a lark resembles an ostrich, there being no affinity between them, except in the long hairs that surround the face of the marikina, and a tuft of hair at the end of his tail. His hair is long, soft, and glossy. His head is round, face brown, eyes red, ears round, and naked, and concealed under the long hairs which surround his face. These hairs are of a bright red, and those on the body and tail of a very pale yellow, approaching a white. This animal has the same manners, the same vivacity, and the same inclinations as the other sagoins. He seems to be of a more robust temperament, for we have seen one which lived five or six years in Paris, without any other particular care than keeping it during the winter in a chamber, wherein there was a fire every day.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The marikina has neither pouches on the sides of his cheeks, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, and nearly as long again as both his head and body. The apertures of the nostrils are on each side of the nose, and the partition which divides them very thick. His ears are round and naked. The hair is long, of a yellowish red colour about the face[AA], and bright yellow hairs, nearly of an equal length, over every other part of the body; his tail is terminated with a considerable tuft of hair. He walks on all fours, and is not above eight or nine inches long.
[Footnote AA: The face is flat, and of a dull purple colour. _Pennant._]
THE PINCH.
This animal, though very small, is still larger than either the ouistiti, or the tamarin. Including the head and body, he is about nine inches long, and his tail is full eighteen He is remarkable for a kind of white smooth hair upon the top and sides of the head, more especially as this colour is wonderfully contrasted with that of the face, which is black, shaded by a small grey down. His eyes are black; his tail is of a bright red from its insertion to near the middle, where it changes to a deep brown, and continues so to the end. The hair on the upper parts of the body is of a yellowish brown colour; that on the breast, belly, hands, and feet, is white. The skin is black, even where covered with white hair. His throat is naked and black like his face. This animal, though of a very singular figure, is nevertheless very handsome. His voice is soft, and resembles more the chaunting of a little bird, than the cry of a quadruped. He is very delicate, and cannot be transported from America to Europe, without the greatest precaution.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The pinch has neither pouches on the sides of his cheeks, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, and as long again as his head and body together. The partition of the nostrils is thick, and the apertures are placed at the side, and not under the nose. The face, throat, and ears are black. The hair on the head is white; the muzzle broad, and the face round. The hair on the body long, and of a reddish colour, until it approaches the tail, and then it becomes of an orange; it is white and shorter on the breast, belly, hands, and feet. The tail is of a bright red at its insertion, darker as it proceeds towards the middle, and entirely black at its extremity. He walks on four feet, and is not above nine inches long.
THE MICO.