Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals | Page 8

a cry of half tones, and ended with a
deafening shake, which was not unmusical. She made a chirping cry in
the morning, supposed to be the call for her companions, beginning
slowly, and ending by two barks, which sounded like the tenor E and
its octave, at which time the poor thing became evidently agitated. She
was, generally speaking, very gentle, and much preferred ladies to
gentlemen; but if her confidence had been once acquired, she seemed to
place as much reliance on a man as she bestowed unsolicited on a
woman.
Monkeys in India are more or less objects of superstitious reverence,
and are, consequently, seldom, or ever destroyed. In some places they
are even fed, encouraged, and allowed to live on the roofs of the houses.
If a man wish to revenge himself for any injury committed upon him,
he has only to sprinkle some rice or corn upon the top of his enemy's
house, or granary, just before the rains set in, and the monkeys will
assemble upon it, eat all they can find outside, and then pull off the tiles
to get at that which falls through the crevices. This, of course, gives
access to the torrents which fall in such countries, and house, furniture,
and stores are all ruined.
The large Banyan trees of the Old World are the favourite resorts of
monkeys and snakes; and the former when they find one of the latter
asleep, seize it by the neck, scramble from their branch, and dash the
reptile's head against a stone, all the time grinning with rage.
The Budeng of Java (Semnopithecus Maurus) abounds in the forests of
that island, and flies from the presence of man, uttering the most fearful
screams, and using the most violent gestures; but this is not a frequent
antipathy, and there is an amusing account of the familiarity which
monkeys assume with men, written by a traveller, who, probably, was

not a naturalist, for he does not give the technical appellation of any of
the species with which he meets in India. From what he says, however,
I should suppose some of his heroes to be the same as the Macacus
Rhesus. He expresses his surprise, when he sees monkeys "at home,"
for the first time, as being so different to the individuals on the tops of
organs, or in the menageries of Europe. Their air of self-possession,
comprehension, and right to the soil on which they live is most
amusing. From thirty to forty seated themselves to look at his
advancing palanquin and bearers, just as villagers watch the strange
arrival going to "the squire's," and mingled with the inhabitants,
jostling the naked children, and stretching themselves at full length
close to the seated human groups, with the most perfect freedom. This
freedom often amounts to impudence; and they frequent the tops of
bazaars, in order to steal all they can lay their hands upon below. The
only way to keep them off, is to cover the roof with a prickly shrub, the
thorns of which stick to the flesh like fishhooks. The above mentioned
traveller watched one, which he calls a bandar, and which took his
station opposite to a sweetmeat shop. He pretended to be asleep, but
every now and then softly raised his head to look at the tempting piles
and the owner of them, who sat smoking his pipe without symptoms
even of a dose. In half an hour the monkey got up, as if he were just
awake, yawned, stretched himself, and took another position a few
yards off, where he pretended to play with his tail, occasionally looking
over his shoulder at the coveted delicacies. At length the shop-man
gave signs of activity, and the bandar was on the alert; the man went to
his back room, the bandar cleared the street at one bound, and in an
instant stuffed his pouches full of the delicious morsels. He had,
however, overlooked some hornets, which were regaling themselves at
the same time. They resented his disturbance, and the tormented bandar,
in his hurry to escape, came upon a thorn-covered roof, where he lay,
stung, torn, and bleeding. He spurted the stolen bon-bons from his
pouches, and barking hoarsely, looked the picture of misery. The noise
of the tiles which he had dislodged in his retreat brought out the
inhabitants, and among them the vendor of sweets, with his turban
unwound, and streaming two yards behind him. All joined in laughing
at the wretched monkey; but their religious reverence for him induced
them to go to his assistance; they picked out his thorns, and he limped

away to the woods quite crestfallen.
The traveller came in constant contact with monkeys in his occupations
of clearing land and planting, and at first, as he