The delicate red ground-colour of this Monkey readily distinguishes it from its more favoured allies. One in the Zoological Gardens is wonderfully human in the expression of its face and beautiful sad-looking large eyes. Its pale lips, eyelids, and cheeks, and the broadish pale forehead, with a slightly ridged nose, add to its appearance of suffering. It has a moustache, a few hairs on its nose, and whiskers, which are very cleanly kept in the proper whisker-line. The hair of the forehead forms a counter-curve, whose peak is just in the centre. Altogether it is a very pretty animal.
Bruce, the African traveller, when in Western Africa, took that trouble which is very rarely done by distinguished travellers in Africa, and observed Monkeys in a state of nature—the Red Monkey in particular. It is strange, considering the omnipresence of the Monkey element, that one may look over volume after volume of African travels, and very rarely meet with a note or word about them; but such is the case. So our obligation to Bruce is great. He says they descended in troops from the tops of the trees to the extremities of the branches, earnestly noticing, and apparently much amused by, the boats, as they passed along the river. They then began to take courage, and pelt the passengers with pieces of wood, this provoking a most unequal combat. When fired upon, they uttered the most frightful cries, and although many fell, the survivors seemed by no means willing to relinquish the contest; on the contrary, they redoubled their efforts. Some flung stones at their adversaries, while others collected something very nasty as a missile; all, in short, displayed a determination of spirit which must at all times render them formidable to opponents of weaker powers than themselves.
The last group of the Guenons are often called the Mangabeys, from a mistaken notion that they come from Madagascar. But there are no Monkeys in that great island, whose forests are peopled by Lemurs instead.
RED-BELLIED MONKEY. (From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.)
THE MANGABEY, OR WHITE-EYELID MONKEY.[47]
The general colour of this Monkey is a reddish-brown, which becomes decidedly red on the top of the head. There is a white band between the eyes, which is continued to each side of the back of the neck. A second kind has grey slaty-brown tints, without the white spot.
MANGABEY.