The number of the Lemuroida is considerable, and they have been grouped in at least twelve genera, and these, again, have been arranged in families. These will be classified by-and-by. It is extremely difficult in many instances to distinguish one kind or species from another, in consequence of the great sameness of shape, and the fact that the same individual has a different coloured coat at various times of his life, and that the males and females of the same kind are often differently coloured.
It will be seen, on reading the description of the Monkeys in the first chapters, that they can be arranged not only by their peculiar structures into grand groups, but by the particular parts of the world they inhabit. Hence they have been divided into those of the Old and of the New World. Now, something of the same kind may be done for the Lemuroida, but not quite as perfectly. There are six genera of them living in Madagascar, three in Africa, and three in the great Asiatic Islands and Hindostan. But although some of those of one locality are very distinct from those of others, it is not always so, and one Madagascar and one African group present close resemblances, and, curiously enough, two West African genera are classed close to two whose kinds live in Ceylon, Hindostan, and the island of Borneo.
No Lemuroid has ever been found in the New World, or in Australia. It will then be convenient, in order to avoid too much anatomical description, to separate at first the Lemurs geographically, and the first to be noticed are those of Madagascar.
As yet very little is known about the natural beauties of the great island of Madagascar. Very few books have been written about it, and nearly all of them are devoted to descriptions of the manners, customs, and religions of the different tribes. In fact, missionary work and political enterprise rendered the publication of such works necessary, and, with rare exceptions, the beauties of Nature, and the interesting fauna and flora, were treated with neglect.[115] Moreover, the jealousy of the governing powers prevented many of those travellers, who were competent to observe Nature and to appreciate her beauties, from exploring large tracts of the island. Descriptions, then, of the characteristic scenery, and of the habits of most of the animals of Madagascar, are exceedingly scarce; and, indeed, those which do exist cannot all be believed, for one geographer, whose work teems with lively anecdotes, and with illustrations of forest and upland, is stated by a later writer never to have left the eastern coast.
It appears, however, that the scenery of the great island is very varied. There is a long line of sea-coast, which is fertile in some places, but very sterile and unprofitable in the south especially. This coast-line limits the forest land, which forms a belt around the higher mountains of the central part of the country, and the hill or comparatively treeless district is broken and very romantic. Those who hunt the Lemuroida know that it is useless to seek for certain kinds everywhere; and, indeed, their experience proves that each of the different districts of the island has a peculiar little assemblage of these “Half Apes” amongst its trees. The silence amongst the woods, where the luxuriance of vegetation is extraordinary, is most remarkable. It is so different from the noise and motion within tropical forests in other parts of the world, and it is only at the end of the day, when the short twilight approaches its close, that the quiet solemnity of the scene is broken by the cries and agile movements of the various Lemuroida. The quietude is produced by the absence of the whole of the Monkey tribes from Madagascar, for they are the great noise-makers of the forests of other tropical countries, and by the indisposition of most of the Lemuroids to move by daylight. They hide themselves in nests of leaves or amongst the densest foliage, and some seek the tops of the highest trees for safety. They seem to know that the hunter will seek them by day if possible. But as the dusk approaches, the quiet, solemn-looking creatures begin to move, jump, swing, and run along the branches with a wonderful dexterity and rapidity. They rarely come to the ground, and when they do so, their gait is clumsy, but up in the trees their motions are graceful and noiseless. They cry out to each other, and appear to take a delight in disturbing the echoes of the night, and after eating their fill they become quieter towards dawn, when they retire to their hiding-places looking dazed and half-blinded by the light. Some of the kinds called Indris, now about to be described, illustrate these remarks very well; thus one species is only found in little patches of forest land, quite in the extreme south of the island, where the country is sandy and poor, whilst a second is found in the north-east of the island amongst the luxuriant woodland. Some keep to the districts where the bamboos abound, much to the disgust of the hunter, for the covert is thick, and the leaves very destructive to clothing. Probably it is the difficulty in trapping and shooting some kinds, and their night-life, which gives them a superior intelligence in the eyes of the natives, who hold some which are very man-like, having no tail, or only just a stump, in great veneration.
GENUS INDRIS.
The distinguished traveller of Madagascar, M. Grandidier, found it very difficult to obtain much information about these Lemuroids, the name of which is the same as a native expression of surprise, such as “Look, there it is!” He undertook a very perilous journey by sea and land to the south of the island, and there he found the favourite woods of some, and also in the south-west. He arrived in a coaster, in June, 1866, off Fort Dauphin in the south-east of the island, and being blown out to sea, gained the southernmost cape, St. Marie, off a most inhospitable and arid shore. A long row of sand dunes, without a trace of vegetation, bounded, in the background, a low coast-line of rocks, which extended far into the shallow sea, being constantly hidden by furious waves. Not a trace of man or of dwellings could be seen. The sand dunes slope towards the sea at a high angle, and are at least 150 yards high. Their tops are flat, and continue backwards into the country for some distance. They are composed of broken shells, and are covered here and there by a stunted spiny vegetation. It was on the slopes of these dunes that Grandidier found portions of the eggs of the extinct colossal bird Æpyornis. Beyond the dunes is a vast plain without even small hills, and covered with a scanty vegetation of groups of deformed trees; but in the remote distance hills are seen, and then there are numerous forests.
Some species of Indris live in these stunted forests of deformed trees, in bands of ten or twelve, and never come to the ground except when pressed by hunger. When seen under such circumstances, they stand up on their hind feet, their tail hanging behind them, and they advance by little hop-like motions, resembling those of a child that jumps with its feet tied together.
They are nearly white in colour, and are called Sifac by the natives ([page 212]), and are looked upon with veneration, for they are not very unlike very small men in general shape, especially when they stand erect. In common with all the Indris, they are slim, tall, long-legged animals, with very strong feet, with a large and well-formed thumb-like opposable great toe. The head is very furry, and the ears, tufted with hair, are almost, but not quite, hidden, whilst the muzzle, moderate in length, projects between the staring eyes. They have a longish neck, and the body seems to be compressed at the sides. All the fur is soft, and stands out, and that of the tail makes it like a Fox’s brush, but is more slim and cylindrical.