POR Pte Cr Pel gt OP Lo BE IOI EDIE SEES | RT Stet ete eT LAA APES EVENTS nH A wet OD Wah gi ecg gem a Ralw's ee wi as sate ole ern PPG GBP AS Rare ele he Me DPE Dk AS ERIN ALA eee eee iets od ee adit deals ek arn ee ee Te CUTU ERLE Rar nage cian Meee eaoat an ein et Nn eee or ee TT eee Pas ae Ce REET Seg ee Pat wm a, Pare ong eh eee treet Taco Seraph agen enn MER A 0% an tee oe Set BIERL See haf 0 vk hin we tanh wi oFink trae ePah ha Pe a aang my 0 Il a eis abn eT Sig hie EO LoD gy S Me Parsteprgr ar of Spade Pe cediatreckg gy nahn ae kip Pernt y Paes a Bie eth woe = Pik LA NAD Re OAR PIE Veta t we Riek aire ah nN Sue SW Seine Sn Fat Em high igt = OB Mie Fe He Pyne tie| Pitan tt cond ~ Sen ew ha ee so Poe he ee Fite me OLE re oe art eet gt tin of fir le nea aia tete Pon ete can ufin te! o rapt ghee Mate tie ga tole ol ofl 1 Rte en ham maar i edinpen ie ODA SBP ek em ee ee aed Pee OL PE 1 Ok Pgh re Fay PPL 0 Nha are Duka Te fie O om Fo enm th ae een = DN Pehla Matin taro trgeie vin Ke fad ett eo reget Neen aE OME ET a See rage certains et i Ae ean eee econ tape cow wile tan? A gt de Onaig Fal tartn Pi ed pak «Te chin eM Poninn Wont tein tanta T= “geod Sant Oe nee a al een SRG at fia Mere te atie atest Moko? picaaiteihlepeed ein ae le cP ed eae Pata oe meter em = ne ee Pet oat . (gy to gh os Tine oF ohn wane ee tar = , w ng = eet - a - on : ‘ : ones etd ie RY BAe E WOE i LTE LRN ETRE AE IEE IES EET sees eo) nips intel LEO SS APA ARENAS DREAMS TS LGA TD TELAT ALINE NEL TIT TATE, : a ease Resa ant Aaa eee tele a ra : an to yteprarene aa ss i ea PY ts s poe ha "geo ; . : m- - ei P < rx , — - : - ‘A ect aq Paracel any. eter owrms pes CEE er eae Wee Nin rN Sad AOD eo ae ONT GS A ets oe aoe eat obese op aapewe Meine eae Soe we aay eee aaa aoa or a a en Te ee ee mana ae ~ gr ef er TE ee ee cette et tt Se EE PE tn ON NANA RETR EE ix | iy Wate s ink SPEECH OF MONKEYS. TE SPEECH OF MONKEYS / BY R. L. GARNER IN TWO PARTS Tew Work CHARLES L. WEBSTER AND COMPANY 1892 COPYRIGHT, 1892, BY op, CHARLES L. WEBSTER & COMPA [Al Rights Reserved.) . QLT ay GES payee . j Nas i ‘¢ Dedication. INO INE IBIS NW OINDID) 2 WU) Sp WHOSE ZEAL FOR MY SUCCESS IS THE LIGHT WHICH GUIDES ME ALONG THE HIGHWAY OF MY LABORS: AND TO THOSE EARNEST FRIENDS, MR. WALTER S. LOGAN, JupGE CHARLES P. DALY, Mr. SAM. UEL S. McCLURE, Hon. O. B. POTTER, DR ALEXANDER MELVILLE BELL, Cot. JOHN HAY, Pror. S. E. TILLMAN, Mrs. HENRY DRAPER, Mr. J. V. BOOREAM, Mr. G. HILTON SCRIB- NER, AND MR. B. SCHLESINGER, WHO HAVE OPENED THEIR PURSES, AS THEY OPENED THEIR HEARTS, AND AFFORDED ME THAT AID WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO CONTINUE MY RESEARCHES. WITH THEM I SHALL GLADLY SHARE THE GLORY OF ALL THAT MY EFFORTS MAY ACHIEVE. TO THEM, WITH PROFOUND AND AFFECTIONATE GRATITUDE, THIS FIRST CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE ON THIS SUBJECT 1S JUSTLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. di PREEACE. I DESIRE here to express my gratitude to 7he New Review. The North American Review, The Cosmopolitan, The Forum, and many of the lead- ing journals of America, for the use of their valuable and popular pages through which my mack fas been given to the public. To the press, both foreign and American, I gladly pay my tribute of thanks for the liberal discussion, candid criticism, and kind consideration which they have bestowed upon my efforts to solve the great problem of speech. In contributing to science this mite, I do not mean to intimate that my task has been com- pleted, for I am aware that I have only begun to explore the field through which we may hope to pass beyond the confines of our own realm, and invade the lower spheres of life. This volume is intended as a record of my work and a voluntary report of my progress, to vil Vill PREFACE. let the world know with what results my labors have been rewarded, and with the hope that it may be the means of inducing others to pursue like investigations. In prosecuting my studies, I have had no prec- edents to guide me, no literature to consult, and no land-marks by which to steer my course. I have, therefore, been compelled to find my own means, suggest my own experiments, and solve my own problems. Nota line on this subject is to be found in all the literature of the world; and yet the results which I have obtained have far surpassed my highest hopes. Considering the difficulties under which I have been compelled to work, I have been rewarded with results for which I dared not hope, and this inspires me to believe that my success will meet my highest wishes when I am placed in touch with such subjects as I expect to find in the forests of trop- ical Africa. The records in Part I. of this volume are only a few of my experiments; but as they illustrate my methods and set forth the results, they will serve to show, in a measure, the scope of my ‘work. I shall not describe like experiments only in so far as may be found proper to confirm the de- PREFACE. ix duetions from one experiment by the results of another. In Part II. of this work will be found a defi- nition of the word speech as I have used it, and the deductions which I have made from my ex- periments. I shall not venture into any extreme theories, either to confirm or controvert any opinions of others, but simply commit to the world these initial facts and the working hy- potheses upon which I have proceeded to obtain them. I beg here to call attention to Chapter V. of Part II.,in which I have mentioned the partic- ular characteristics that mark the sounds made by monkeys as speech and distinguish them from mere automatic sounds. With sincere convictions, I commit this vol- ume to the friends of science as the first con- tribution upon this subject. R. L. GARNER. New York, June rst, 1892. CONTENTS: PARTS ih PAGE DEDICATION, ° ° . 2 ° . ° 5 es aN; PREFACE, ; 5 ‘ : R : : SCE osm aul CHAPTER I. Early Impressions.—First Observations of Monkeys.— First Efforts to Learn their Speech.—Barriers.— The Phonograph Used.—A Visit to Jokes.—My Ef- forts to Speak to him.—The Sound of Alarm In- spires Terror, A 5 3 ‘ : 5 ‘ Ayan: CHAPTER II. The Reconciliation.—The Acquaintance of Jennie.—The Salutation.—The Words for Food and Drink.—Little Banquo, Dago, McGinty, and others, : ; MONT Al CHAPTER III. Monkeys Have Favorite Colors.—Can Distinguish Num- bers and Quantity.—Music and Art very Limited, . 22 CHAPTER IV. Pedro’s Speech Recorded.—Delivered to Puck Through the Phonograph.—Little Darwin Learns a New Word, 30 CHAPTER V. Five Little Brown Cousins: Mickie, Nemo, Dodo, Nig- ger, and McGinty.—Nemo Apologizes to Dodo, - 40 xil CONTENTS. CHAPTER Vaz Pp Dago Talks about the Weather.—Tells me of his Tron- bles.—Dodo in the ‘‘ Balcony Scene.”—Her Portrait by a Great Artist, CHAPTER VII. Interpretation of Words.—Specific Words and Signs.— The Negative Sign and Sounds.—Affirmative Expres- sions.—Possible Origin of Negative and Positive Signs, CHAPTER ~ Vili Meeting with Nellie.—Nellie was my Guest.—Her Speech and Manners.—The Little Blind Girl.—One of Nellie’s Friends.—Her Sight and Hearing.—Her Toys and how she Played with them, . : CHAPTER IX. Nellie’s Affections.—A Little Flirtation.—Some of my Personal Friends, CHAPTER X. The Capuchin Vocabulary.—What I Have Found.—What I Foresee in it, é - CHAPTER XI. The Word for Food in the Rhesus Dialect.—The Rhesus Sound of Alarm.—The Dialect of the White-Face. — Dolly Varden, Uncle Remus, and others, . CHAPTER XII. Atelles or Spider-Monkeys.—The Common Macaque.— Java Monkeys and what They Say.—A Happy Family, 2 A : . CHAPTER XIII. The Extent of my Experiments.—Apes and Baboons.— AGE 49 57 68 79 86 gt 99 Miscellaneous Records of Sounds.—The Vocal Index, 108 CONTENTS. Xili CHAPTER XIV. PAGE Monkeys and the Mirror.—Some of their Antics.—Baby Macaque and her Papa.—Some other Monkeys, a CHAPTER XV. Man and Ape.—Their Physical Relations.—Their Mental Relations.—Evolution was the Means.—Who was the Progenitor of the Ape?—The Scale of Life, 5 eet CLUAE RHR OV: The Faculty of Thought.—Emotion and Thought.—In- stinct and Reason.—Monkeys Reason.—Some Ex- amples, : c : 5 : : . ; . 129 PARIS i CHAPTER I. Speech Defined.—The True Nature of Speech.—The Use of Speech.—The Limitations of Speech, . 5 Ag CHAPTER II. The Motives of Speech.—Expression.—The Beginning of Human Speech.—The Present Condition of Speech, . 150 CHAPTER III. Language Embraces Speech.—Speech, Words, Grammar, and Rhetoric, “ : : Z ; : - » 155 CHAPTER, IV: Life and Consciousness.—Consciousness and Emotion.— Emotion and Thought.—Thought and Expression. — Expression and Speech.—The Vocal Organs and Sound.—Speech in City and Country.—Music, Pas- sions, and Taste.—Life and Reason, . > 5 Moy X1V CONTENTS. CHAP TH Raye Certain Marks which Characterize the Sounds of Monkeys: as Speech.—Sounds Accompanied by Gestures.—Cer- tain Acts Follow Certain Sounds.—They Acquire New Sounds.—Their Speech Addressed to Certain Individ- uals.—Deliberation and Premeditation.—They Re- member and Anticipate Results.—Thought and Reason, : : 3 ; ‘ : : ‘ . 169 AGE CHAPTER: VI. The Phonograph as an Aid to Science.—Vowels the Basis of Phonation.—Consonants Developed from a Vowel Basis.—Vowels are Compound.—The Analysis of Vowels by the Phonograph.—Current Theories of Sound.—Augmentation of Sounds.—Sound-Waves and Sound-Units.—Consonants among the Lower Races, 176 CHAPTER VII. The Human Voice.—Human Bag-Pipe.—Human Piccolo, Flute, and Fife. —The Voice as a Whistle.—Music and Noise.—Dr. Bell and his Visible Speech, . . - 185 CHAPTER VIII. Some Curious Facts in Vocal Growth.—Children and Consonants.—Single, Double, and Treble Conso- nants.—Sounds of Birds.—Fishes and their Lan- guage.—Insects and their Language, P ‘ . 189 CHAPTER IX. Facts and Fancies of Speech.—Language in the Vege- table Kingdom.—Language in the Mineral Kingdom, 199 CHAPTER X. The Speech and Reason of Domestic Animals.—Dash and the Baby.—Two Collies Talk.—Eunice Under- stands her Mistress.—Two Dogs and the Phono- graph.—A Canine Family.—Cats and Dogs.—Insects, 207 meee SPEECH OF. MONKEYS. CHAPTER I. Early Impressions.—First Observations of Monkeys.— First Efforts to Learn their Speech.—Barriers.—The Phono- graph Used.—A Visit to Jokes.—My Efforts to Speak to him.—The Sound of Alarm Inspires Terror. From childhood, I have believed that all kinds of animals have some mode of speech by which they can talk among their own kind; and I have often wondered why man has never tried to learn it. I have often wondered how it occurred to man to whistle to a horse or dog instead of using some sound more like their own, and even yet I am at a loss to know how such a sound has ever become a fixed means of calling these ani- mals. Iam not alone in my belief that all ani- mals have some way to make known to others some certain things; but to my mind, the means have never been well defined. About eight years ago, in the Cincinnati Zo- dlogical Garden, I was deeply impressed by the 3 4 THE SPEECH OF -MONIKGEMsS. conduct of a number of monkeys occupying a cage with a huge, savage mandril, which they seemed very much to fear and dislike. By means © of a wall the cage was divided into two compart- ments, through which was a small doorway, just large enough to allow the occupants of the cage to pass from one room to the other. The inner compartment of the cage was used for their win- ter quarters and sleeping-apartments; the outer, consisting simply of a well-constructed iron cage, was intended for exercise and summer occupancy. Every movement of this mandril seemed to be closely watched by the morikeys that were ina position to see him, and instantly reported to the others inthe adjoining compartment. I watched them for hours, and felt assured that they had a form of speech by means of which they com- municated with each other. During the time I remained, I discovered that a certain sound would invariably cause them to act in a certain way, and in the course of my visit I discovered that I could myself tell by the sounds the mon- keys would make just what the mandril was do- ing—that is, I could tell whether he was asleep or whether he was moving about in his cage. Having interpreted one or two of these sounds, i cae THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 5 I felt inspired with the belief that I could learn them, and felt that the “key to the secret cham- ber” was within my grasp. I regarded the task of learning the speech of monkeys as very much the same as learning that of some strange race of mankind—more difficult in the degree of its inferiority, but less in volume. Year by year, as new ideas were revealed to me, new barriers arose, and I began to realize how great a task was mine. One difficulty was to utter the sounds I heard, another was to recall them, and yet another to translate them. But impelled by an inordinate hope and not discour- aged by poor success, I continued my studies as best I could in the gardens of New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Chicago, and with such specimens as I could find from time to time with travelling shows, hand-organs, aboard some ship, or kept as a family pet. I must acknowl- edge my debt of gratitude to all these little creatures who have aided me in the study of their native tongue. Having contended for some years with the difficulties mentioned, a new idea dawned upon me, and after maturely considering it, I felt 6 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. assured of ultimate success. Iwent to Washing- ton and proposed the novel experiment of acting as interpreter between twomonkeys. Of course, this first evoked from the great fathers of science a smile of incredulity; but when I explained the means by which I expected to accomplish this, a shadow of seriousness came over the faces of those dignitaries to whom I first proposed the novel feat. I procured a phonograph* upon which to record the sounds of the monkeys. I separated two monkeys which had occupied the same cage together for some time, and placed them in separate rooms of the building, where they could not see or hear each other. I then arranged the phonograph near the cage of the female, and by various means induced her to utter a few sounds, which were recorded on the > cylinder of the instrument. The machine was then placed near the cage containing the male and the record repeated to him, and his conduct closely studied. He gave evident signs of recog- nizing the sounds, and at once began a search for the mysterious monkey doing the talking. * While I use the word phonograph throughout this work, I must state that many of my experiments were made with the graphophone. bas Lael REE SPEECH -OF MONKEYS. fe His perplexity at this strange affair cannot well be described. The familiar voice of his mate would induce him to approach, but that squeak- ing, chattering horn was a feature which he could not comprehend. He traced the sounds, however, to the source from which they came, and failing to find his mate, thrust his arm into the horn quite up to his shoulder, then withdrew it, and peeped into it again and again. The ex- pressions of his face were indeed a study. I then secured a few sounds of his voice and deliv- ered them to the female, who showed some signs of interest, but the record was very imperfect and her manner seemed quite indifferent. In this experiment for the first time in the history of language was the simian speech reduced to record, and while the results were not fully up to my hopes, they served to inspire me to fur- ther efforts to find the fountain-head from which flows out the great river of human speech. Having satisfied myself that each one recognized the sound made by the other when delivered through the phonograph, I felt rewarded for my labor and assured of the possibility of learning the language of monkeys. The faith of others was strengthened also, and while this experiment 8 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. was very crude and imperfect, it served to con- vince me that my opinions were correct as to the speech of these animals. In this case I noticed the defects which oc- curred in my work, and provided against them, as well as I could, for the future. Soon after this I went to Chicago and Cincinnati, where I made a variety of records of the sounds of a great number of monkeys, and among others I secured a splendid record of the two chimpanzees contained in the Cincinnati collection, which I brought home with me for study. The records that I made of various specimens of the simian race I repeated to myself over and over until I became familiar with them and learned to imitate a few of them, mostly by the use of mechanical devices. After having accomplished this, I re- turned to Chicago, and went at once to visit a small Capuchin monkey whose record had been my chief study. Standing near his cage I imi- tated a sound which I had translated “ milk;” but from many tests I concluded it meant “food,” which opinion has been somewhat modified by many later experiments that lead me to believe that he uses it in a still wider sense. It is diffi- THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 9 cult to find any formula of human speech equiv- alent toit. While the Capuchin uses it relating to food and sometimes to drink, I was unable to detect any difference in the sounds. He also seemed to connect the same sound to every kindly office done him and to use it as a kind of “Shib- boleth.” More recently, however, I have de- tected in the sound slight changes of inflection under different conditions, until I am now led to believe that the meaning of the word depends somewhat, if not wholly, on its modulation. The phonetic effect is rich and rather flute-like, and the word resembles somewhat the word “c (79 99 Its dominant is a pure vocal “u, ” who. sounded like “oo” in “too,” which has a faint initial “ wh,’ both elements of which are sounded, and the word ends with a vanishing “w.” The literal formula by which I would represent it is “wh-oo-w.”” The word which I have translated “drink” begins with a faint guttural “ch,” glides through a sound resembling the French and ends with a slight “y 99 ” diphthong “eu, sound, as in “ye.” So far I have found no trace of the English Le er 3 i,” or “o,” unless it be in the sound ¢ vowels “a, ce) THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. emitted under stress of great alarm or in case of assault, in which I find a close resemblance to the vowel “i” short, as in “it.” After having acquired a sound or two I ex- tended my field of operations, and began to try my skill as a simian linguist on every specimen with which I came in contact. In Charleston a gentleman owns a fine speci- men of the brown Cebus whose name is Jokes. He is naturally shy of strangers, but on my first visit to him I addressed him in his native tongue, and he really seemed to regard me very kindly; he would eat from my hand and allow me to caress him through the bars of his cage. He eyed me with evident curiosity, but inva- riably responded to the word that I uttered in his own language. On my third visit to him I de- termined to try the effect of the peculiar sound of “alarm” or “assault” which I had learned from one of this species; but I cannot very well represent it in letters. While he was eating from my hand I gave this peculiar piercing note, and he instantly sprang to a perch in the top of his cage; thence in and out of his sleeping-apart- ment with great speed and almost wild with fear. As I repeated the sound his fears seemed reer ee er Te ee ee ee es THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. II to increase, until from a mere sense of compas- sion I desisted. No amount of coaxing would induce him to return to me or to accept any offer of peace which I could make. I retired to a distance of about twenty feet from his cage, and his master induced him to descend from the perch, which he did with the greatest reluctance and suspicion. I gave the sound again from where I stood, and it produced almost the same results as before. The monkey gave out a sin- gular sound in response to my efforts to appease him, but refused to become reconciled. After the lapse of eight or ten days I had not been able to reinstate myself in his good graces or to induce him to accept anything whatever from me. At this juncture I resorted to harsher means of bringing him to terms and began to threaten him with arod. At first he resented this, but soon yielded and came down merely from fear. He would place the side of his head on the floor, put out his tongue, and utter a very plaintive sound having a slight interrogative inflection. At first this act quite defied inter- pretation; but during the same period I was visiting a little monkey called Jack. For stran- gers we were quite good friends, and he allowed 12 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS: me many liberties, which the family assured me he had uniformly refused to others. On one of my visits he displayed his temper and made an attack upon me, because I refused to let go of a saucer from which I was feeding him some milk. I jerked him up by the chain and slapped him sharply, whereupon he instantly laid the side of his head on the floor, put out his tongue, and made just such a sound as Jokes had made a number of times before. It occurred to me that it was a sign of surrender, and many subsequent tests have confirmed this opinion. Mrs. M. French Sheldon, in her journey through East Africa, shot a small monkey ina forest near Lake Charla. She described to me how the little fellow stood high up in a tree and chattered to her in his sharp, musical voice until at the crack of her gun he fell mortally wounded. When he was laid dying at her feet, he turned his bright little eyes pleadingly upon her as if to ask for pity. Touched by his appeal, she took the little creature in her arms to try to soothe him. Again and again he would touch his tongue to her hand as if kissing it, and seemed to wish in the hour of death to be caressed even by the hand that slew him, and which had taken ee pS Oe » ¢ ets AT Pe al eee is. ee ie ei mel ay THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. T3 from, him without reward that life which could be of no value except to spare to the wild forest where his kindred monkeys live. This peculiar mode of expressing submission seems to be very widely used, and from her de- scription of the actions of that monkey his con- duct must have been identical with that of the Cebus, and to my mind may justly be interpreted Lomean, Pity:me; 1 will not: harm you.* I have recently learned that a Scotch naturalist, commenting on my description of this act and its meaning, quite agrees with me, and states that he has observed the same thing in other species of monkeys. CHAPTER II. The Reconciliation.—The Acquaintance of Jennie.—The Salu- tation. —The Words for Food and Drink.—Little Banquo, Dago, McGinty, and others. DURING a period of many weeks I visited Jokes almost daily, but after the lapse of more than two months I had not won him back nor quieted his suspicions against me. On my approach he would manifest great fear and go through the act of humiliation described above. I observed that he entertained an intense hatred for a negro boy on the place, who teased and vexed him on all oc- casions. I had the boy come near the cage, and Jokes fairly raved with anger. I tookastick and pretended to beat the boy, and this delighted Jokes very greatly. I held the boy near enough to the cage to allow the monkey to scratch and pull his clothes, and this would fill his little sim- ian soul with joy. Iwould then release the boy, and to the evident pleasure of Jokes would drive him away by throwing wads of paper at him. I repeated this a number of times, and by such THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 15 means we again became the best of friends. After each encounter with the boy Jokes would come to the bars, touch my hand with his tongue, chatter and play with my fingers, and show every sign of confidence and friendship. He always warned me of the approach of any one, and his conduct toward them was largely governed by my own. He never failed after this to salute me with the sound described in the first chapter. About the same time I paid a few visits to an- other little monkey of the same species, named Jennie. Her master had warned me in advance that she was not well disposed toward strangers. At my request he had her chained in a small side yard, which he forbade any of the family en- tering. When I approached the little lady for the first time I gave her the usual salutation, which she responded to and seemed to under- stand. I unceremoniously sat down by her side and fed her from my hands. She eyed me with evident interest and curiosity, while I studied her every act and expression. During the proc- ess of this mutual investigation, a negro girl who lived with the family, overcome by curi- osity, stealthily entered the yard and came up within a few feet of us. I determined to sac- 16 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS: rifice this girl upon the altar of science; so I arose and placed her between the monkey and myself and vigorously sounded the alarm or menace. Jennie flew into a fury, while I con- tinued to sound the alarm and at the same time pretended to attack the girl withaclub and some paper wads, thus causing the monkey to believe that the girl had uttered the alarm and made the assault. I then drove the girl from the yard with a great show of violence, and for days after- ward she could not feed or approach the little simian. This confirmed my opinion of the meaning of the sound, which can be fairly imi- tated by placing the back of the hand gently on the mouth and kissing it with great force, pro- longing the sound for some seconds. This imi- tation, however, is indifferent and its quality is especially noticeable when analyzed on the pho- nograph. The pitch corresponds to the highest “fF” sharp on the piano, while the word “drink” is two octaves lower and the word “food” three. On one occasion I visited the garden in Cin- cinnati, and found in a cage a small Capuchin, to whom I gave the name Banquo. It was near night and the visitors had left the house, and the little monkey, worried out by the day’s an- Smeg ee ee THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 17 noyance from visitors, sat quietly in the back of his cage, as though he was glad another day was done. I approached the cage and uttered the sound which I have described and translated “drink.” My first effort caught his attention and caused him to turn and look at me. He then arose and answered me with the same word, and came at once to the front of the cage. He looked at me as if in doubt, and I repeated the word. He responded with the same and turned to a small pan in his cage, which he took up and placed near the door through which the keeper usually passed his food, returned to me, and ut- tered the word again. I asked the keeper for some milk, which he did not have, but brought me some water instead. The efforts of my little simian friend to secure the glass were very earnest, and his pleading manner and tone as- sured me of his extreme thirst I allowed him to dip his hand into the glass, and he would then lick the water from his fingers and reach again. I kept the glass out of reach of his hand and he would repeat the sound earnestly and look at me beseechingly as if tosay: ‘“‘ Please give me some more.” I was thus convinced that the word which I had translated “milk” must also mean 18 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. “water,” and from this and other tests I at last determined that it meant “drink” in its broad sense, and possibly “thirst.” It evidently ex-~ pressed his desire for something with which to allay his thirst. The sound is very difficult to imitate and quite impossible to write exactly. On one of my visits to the Chicago garden I stood with my side to a cage containing a small Capuchin, and gave the sound which I have trans- lated “milk.” It caused him to turn and look at me, and on repeating the sound a few times he answered me very distinctly with the same, pick- ing up the pan from which he usually drank, and as I repeated the word he brought the pan to the front of the cage, set it down and came up to the bars, and uttered the word distinctly. I had not shown him any milk or any kind of food; but the man in charge, at my request, brought me some milk, which I gave tohim. He drank it with great delight; then looked at me and held up his pan, repeating the sound. I am quite sure that he used the same sound each time that he wanted milk. During this same visit, I tried many experiments with the word which I am now convinced means “food” or “hunger.” And I was led to the belief that he THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. i9 tused the same word for apple, carrot, bread, and banana; but a few later experiments have led me to modify this view in a measure, since the pho- nograph shows me slight variations of the sound, and I now think it probable that these faint in- flections may possibly indicate a difference in the kinds of food he has in mind. However, they usually recognize this sound, even when poorly imitated. I am impressed with the firm belief that in this word I have found the clew to the great secret of speech; and while I have taken only one short step in the direction of its solution, I have pointed out the way which leads to it. In the fall of 1891 I visited New York for the purpose of experimenting with the monkeys in Central Park. Early one morning I repaired to the monkey-house, and for the first time ap- proached a cage containing five brown Capuchins, whom I saluted with the word which I have translated “food,” and which seems to be an “open-sesame” to the hearts of all monkeys of this species. On delivering this word one of them responded promptly and came to the front @x ene cage. I tepeated it two or three times and the remaining four came to the front, and as I thrust my fingers through the bars of the cage 20 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS, they took hold of them and began playing with great familiarity and apparent pleasure. They seemed to recognize the sound and to realize that it had been delivered to them by myself. Whether they regarded me as a great ape, mon- key, orsome other kind of animal speaking their tongue, I do not know. But they evidently un- derstood the sound, though up to this time I had shown them no food or water. A little later I se- cured some apples and carrots and gave them in small bits in response to their continual requests for food, and this further confirmed my belief that I had translated the word correctly. This was gratifying to me in view of the fact that I was accompanied by two gentlemen who had been permitted to witness the experiment, and it was evident to them that the monkeys understood the sound. I placed the phonograph in order and made a record of the sound, which I preserved for study. After an absence of some days, I returned to the park and went to the mon- key-house. They recognized me as I entered the door, notwithstanding there were many visitors present. They began begging me to come to their cage, which I did, and gave them my hand to play with. One of them in particular, whose DHE, SPEECH OF) MONKEYS. 2 il name is McGinty, showed every sign of pleas- ure at my visit; he would play with my fingers, hug them, and caress them in the most affectionate manner. Another occupant of the same cage had shown a disposition to become friendly with me, and on this occasion came bravely to the bars of the cage and showed a desire to share the pleasure of my visit with his little simian brother. But this was denied him on any terms by Mc- Ginty, who pounced upon him and drove him away, as he also did the other monkeys in the cage in order to monopolize my entire society himself. He refused to allow any other inmate of the cage to receive my caresses or any part of the food that I had brought them. I spent the past winter in Washington and New York, much of the time in company with these little creatures, and have made many novel and curious experiments, some of which have resulted in surprises to myself. Among the facts which I have obtained, I may state that certain monkeys can count three; that they discern values by quantity and by number; that they have favorite - colors and are pleased with some musical sounds. I shall explain how I arrived at sore of these conclusions, in order that I may not be supposed to have merely guessed at them, CHAPTER III. Monkeys Have Favorite Colors.—Can Distinguish Numbers and Quantity.—Music and Art very Limited. In order to ascertain whether monkeys have any choice of colors or not, I selected some bright-colored candies, balls, marbles, bits of ribbon, etc. I took a piece of pasteboard, and on it placed a few bright-colored bits of candy, which I offered to a monkey and watched to see whether he would select a certain color or not. In this experiment I generally used two colors at a time, and changed their places from time to time in order to determine whether he selected the color by design or accident. After having determined which of two colors he preferred, I substituted a third color for the one which he cared least for, and continued thus until I ex- hausted the list of bright colors. By changing the arrangement of the objects a great number of times, it could be ascertained with compara- tive certainty whether the color was his prefer- ence or not. I find that all monkeys do not se- THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 23 lect the same color, nor does the same monkey invariably select the same color at different times; but I think that generally bright green is a favor- ite color with the Capuchins, and their second choice is white. In a few cases white seemed to be their preference. I have sometimes used paper wads of various colors, or bits of candy of the same flavor rolled in various-colored papers. They seemed to choose the same colors in select- ing their toys. I have sometimes used arti- ficial flowers, and find that as a rule they will select a flower having many green leaves about it. It may be that they associate this color with some green food which they are fond of, and consequently that they are influenced by this in selecting other things. I kept a cup for a mon- key to drink milk from, on the sides of which were some brilliant flowers and green leaves, and she would frequently quit drinking the milk to play with the flowers on the cup, and seemed never able to understand why she could not eet hold of them. In one test I had a board about two feet long’, and laid a few pieces of white and pink candies in four placesonit. The mon- key took the white from each pile before touch- ing the pink; except in one instance it took the 24 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. pink piece from one pile. I repeated this test many times. In another test -I took a white paper ball in one hand and a pink one in the other, and held out my hands to the monkey, who selected the white one nearly every time, although I changed hands with the balls from time to time. These experiments were mostly confined to the Cebus monkeys, but a few of them were made with Macaques. They seem to be attracted generally by all brilliant colors, but when reduced to a choice between two, such seems to be their tastes. In my efforts to ascertain their mathematical skill, I would take in one hand a little platter containing one nut, or one small bit of some- thing to eat, such as a piece of apple or carrot cut into a small cube. In the other hand I held a small platter with two or three such articles of the same size and color, and holding them just out of reach of the monkey and changing them from hand to hand, I observed that the monkey would try to reach the one containing the greater number. He readily discerned which platter contained one and which contained two or three pieces. I was long in doubt whether he distin- guished by number or by quantity, and my belief THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 25 was that it was by quantity only. I first deter- mined that he could tell singular from plural, by making the one piece larger and sometimes of a different shape, and from his choice of these I quite satisfied my own mind that he could dis- tinguish by number. I next set out to find how far in numerals his acquirements reached, and after a great number of indecisive trials I fell upon this simple plan. I took a little square wooden box and madea hole in one side just large enough for the monkey to withdraw his hand with a marble init. I took three marbles of the same size and color and gave them to the monkey to play with. After a time I put the marbles in a box and allowed him to take them out, which he could do by taking out only one at atime. I repeated this several times, so as to impress his mind with the number of marbles in the box. I then concealed one of the marbles and returned two to the box. On taking them out he evidently missed the absent one, felt in the box, arose and looked around where he had been sitting. Then he would put his hand into the box again and look at me; but failing to find it, he became reconciled and began to play with the two. When he had become content with 26 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS: the two I abstracted one of them, and when he failed to find it he began to search for it and seemed quite unwilling to proceed without it. He would put the one back into the box and take it out again as if in hope that it might find the other. I helped him to look for the missing marbles, and, of course, soon found them. When he learned that I could find the lost mar- bles he would appeal to me as soon as he would miss them, and in several instances he would take his little black fingers and open my lips to see if I had concealed them in my mouth—the place where all monkeys conceal what they wish to keep in safety from other monkeys, who never venture to put their fingers into one another’s mouths, and when any article is once lodged in a monkey’s mouth it is safe from the reach of all the.tribe. I repeated this until I felt quite sure of the ability of my subject to count three, and I then increased the number of marbles to four. When I would abstract one of them, sometimes he seemed to miss it, or at least to be in doubt, but would soon proceed with his play and not worry himself about it; yet he rarely failed to show that he was aware that something was wrong. Whether he missed one from four or THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 27 only acted on general principle, I do not know; but that he missed one from three was quite evident. I may here add that there is a great differ- ence in different specimens, and their tastes vary like those of human beings. The same idea is much clearer to some monkeys than it is to others, and a choice of colors much more definite; but I think that all of them assign to different num- bers a difference of value. Some are talkative and others taciturn. I think I may state with safety that the Cebus is the most intelligent and talkative of all the monkeys I have known; that the old-world monkeys, as a group, are more. taciturn and less intelligent than the new-world monkeys; but I do not mean to include the an- thropoid apes in this remark. As atest of their taste for music or musical sounds, I took three little bells, which I sus- pended by three strings, one end of which was tied to a button. The bells were all alike ex- cept that from two of them I had removed the clappers. I dropped the bells through the meshes of the cage about ¢ foot apart and allowed the monkey to play with them. I soon discov- ered that he was attracted by the one which con- tained the clapper. He played with it and soon 28 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. became quite absorbed in it. I attracted his at- tention to another part of the cage with some food, and while he was thus diverted I changed the position of the bells by withdrawing and dropping them through other meshes. On his return he would go to the place he had left, and of course get a bell with no clapperin it. He would drop this and take another, until he found the one with the clapper, which showed clearly that the sound was a part of the attraction. I have repeated to monkeys many musical records onthe phonograph; but frequently they show no sign of concern, while at other times they display some interest. It may be, however, that music as we understand it is somewhat too high for them. Musical sounds seem to attract and afford them pleasure, but they do not appreciate melody or rhythm. As monkeys readily discern the larger of two pieces of food from the smaller, and by the aid of concrete things can count a limited number, I feel justified in saying that they have ‘the first principles of mathematics as dealing with numbers and quantity in a concrete form. Their ability to distinguish colors and their se- lection thereof would indicate that they possess the first rudiment of art as dealing with color. THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 290 And the fact that they are attracted in a slight degree by musical sounds shows that they pos- sess the germ from which music itself is born. I must not be understood to claim that they possess anything more than the mere germ from which such faculties might have been evolved. Ido not think that they have any names for numbers, colors, or quantities, nor do I think that they pos- sess an abstract idea of these things, except in the feeblest degree; but as the concrete must have preceded the abstract idea in the devel- opment of human reason, it impresses me that these creatures are now in a condition such as man has once passed through in the course of his evolution, and it is not difficult to understand how such feeble faculties may develop into the very highest degree of strength and usefulness by constant use and culture. We find in them the rudiments from which all the faculties possessed by man could easily de- velop, including thought, reason, speech, and the moral and social traits of man. In brief, | they appear to have at least the raw material out of which is made the most exalted attributes of man; and I shall not contest with them the right of such possession. CHAPTER TY; Pedro's Speech Recorded.—Delivered to Puck Through the Phonograph.—Little Darwin Learns a New Word. IN the Washington collection there is a Ca- puchin by the name of Pedro. When I first vis- ited this bright little monkey he occupied a cage in common with several other monkeys of differ- ent kinds. All of them seemed to impose upon little Pedro, and a mischievous young spider- monkey found special delight in catching him by the tail and dragging him around the floor of the cage. lTinterfered on behalf of Pedro and drove the spider-monkey away. On account of this Pedro soon began to look upon me as his bene- factor, and when he would see me he would scream and beg for me to come to him. [ in- duced the keeper to place him in a small cage by himself, and this he seemed to appreciate very much. When I would go to record his sounds on the phonograph, I would hold him in one hand while he would take the tube in his tiny black hands, hold it close up to his mouth, and THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 31 talk into it just like a good little boy who knew what to do and how to doit. He would some- times laugh, and always chatter to me as long as he could see me. He would sit on my hand and kiss my cheeks, put his mouth up to my ear and chatter just as though he knew what my ears were for. Hewas quite fond of the head-keeper and also of the director; but he entertained a great dislike for one of the assistant keepers, and he has often told me some very bad things about that man, though I could not understand what he said. I shall long remember how this dear little monkey would cuddle up under my chin and try so hard to make me understand some sad story which seemed to be the burden of his life. He readily understood the sounds of his own speech which I repeated to him, and I have made some of the best records of his voice that I have ever suc- ceeded in making of any monkey, some of which Ihave preserved up to this time. They present a wide range of sounds,jand\I have studied them with special care and pleasure, because I knew that they were addressed to me in person; and being aware that the little creature was uttering these sounds to me with the hope that I would understand them, I was more anxious to learn just 32 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. what he really said to me in this record than if it had contained only some casual remark not ad- dressed to me. This little simian was born in the Amazon Valley, in Brazil, and was named for the late emperor. A short time ago I borrowed from a dealer in Washington a little Capuchin called Puck, and had him sent to my apartments, where I kepta phonograph. I placed the cage in front of the machine upon which I had adjusted the horn and had placed the record of my little friend Pedro. I concealed myself in an adjoining room, where I could watch the conduct of my subject through a small hole in the door. Ihad a string attached to the lever of the machine and drawn taut through another hole in the door, so that I could | start the machine at any desired moment, and at the same time avoid attracting the attention of the monkey, either by my presence or by allow- ing him to see anything move. After a time, when everything was quiet, I set the machine in motion, and treated him to a phonographic re- cital by little Pedro. This speech was distinctly delivered through the horn to Puck, from whose actions it was evident that he recognized it as the voice of one of his tribe. He looked at the “eee ee a THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. ae horn in surprise and made a sound or two, glanced around the room, and again uttered a couple of sounds as he retired from the horn ap- parently somewhat afraid. Again the horn de- livered some exclamations in a pure Capuchin dialect, which Puck seemed to regard as sounds of some importance. He cautiously advanced and made a feeble response, but a quick, sharp sound from the horn seemed to startle him; and failing to find any trace of a monkey except the sound of a voice, he looked at the horn with evi- dent suspicion, and scarcely ventured to answer any sound it made. When I had delivered to him the contetits of the record I entered the room again, and this seemed to afford him some felier A little later I adjusted my apparatus for an- other trial, and this time I hung a small mirror just above the mouth of thehorn. Then retiring again from the room I left him to examine his new surroundings, and he soon discovered the new monkey in the glass and began to caress it and chatter to it. After a while I started the phonograph again by means of the string, and when the horn began to deliver its simian ora- tion, it appeared to disconcert and perplex Puck. 3 34 THE. SPEECH OF MONKEYS, He would look at the image in the glass, then he would look into the horn; he would retire with a feeble grunt and a kind of inquisitive grin, showing his little white teeth, and acting as though in doubt whether to regard the affair as a joke or to treat itas a grim and scientific fact. His voice and actions were exactly like those of a child declaring in words that he was not afraid, but betraying fear in every act, and finally blend- ing his feelings into a genuine cry. Puck did not cry, but the evidence of fear made the grin on his face rather ghostly. Again he would ap- proach the mirror, then listen to the sounds which came from the horn, and it appeared from his conduct that there was a conflict somewhere. It was evident that he did not believe that the monkey which he saw in the glass was making the sounds which came from the horn. He re- peatedly put his mouth to the glass and caressed the image which he saw there, and at the same time showed a grave suspicion and some concern about the one which he heard in the horn, and tried to keep away from it as much as possible. His conduct in this case was a source of surprise to me, as the sounds contained in the record which I had repeated to him were all uttered in — THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 35 a mood of anxious, earnest entreaty, which to me seemed to contain no sound of anger, warn- ing, or alarm, but which, on the contrary, I had interpreted as a kind of love-speech, full of music and tenderness. I had not learned the exact meaning of any one of the sounds con- tained in this cylinder, but had ascribed in a collective and general way such a meaning to this speech. But from Puck’s conduct I was led to believe that it was a general complaint of some kind against those monkeys in that other cage who had made life a burden to little Pedro. One thing was clear to my mind, and that is that Puck interpreted the actions of the monkey which he saw in the glass to mean one thing, and the sounds which he heard from the horn to mean quite another. I do not think that their language is capable of shading sentences into narrative or giving any detail in a complaint, for 1 have never seen any- thing yet among them that would justify one in ascribing to them so high a type of speech; but in terms of general grievance it may have conveyed to Puck the idea of a monkey in dis- tress, and hence his desire to avoid it; while the image in the glass presented to him a picture of 36 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. his own mood, and he therefore had no cause to shun it. I do think, however, that the present form of speech used by monkeys is developed far above a mere series of grunts and groans, and that some species among them have much more copious and expressive forms of speech than others do. From many experiments with the phonograph, I am prepared to say with certainty that some have much higher phonetic types than others do. I have traced some slight inflections which I think beyond a doubt modify the val- ues of their sounds. I find monkeys who do not make certain inflections at all, although the phonation of a species is generally uniform in other respects. In some cases it seems to me that the inflections differ slightly in the same species, but long and constant association seems to unify these dialects in some degree, very much the same as like causes blend and unify the dialects of human speech. I have found one instance in which a Capuchin had ac- quired two sounds which strictly belonged to the tongue of the white-faced Cebus. I was surprised when I heard him utter the sounds, and thought at first that these sounds were com- mon to the speech of both varieties, but on in- THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 37 quiry I found that he had been confined in a cage with the white-face for nearly four years, and hence my belief that he acquired them during that time. The most remarkable case which has come un- der my observation is one in which a young white-face has acquired the sound which means food in the Capuchin tongue. This event oc- curred under my own eyes. I regard this case as so noteworthy, being attended by such con- ditions as to show that the monkey had a motive in learning the sound, that I shall relate it in detail. _In the room where the monkeys were kept by a dealer in Washington, there was a cage which contained a young white-faced Cebus of rather more than average intelligence. He wasa quiet, sedate, and thoughtful little monkey, whose gray hair and beard gave him quite a venerable as- pect, and for this reason I called him Darwin. From some cause unknown to me he was afraid of me, and I showed him but little attention. On the same shelf and in an adjacent cage lived the little Capuchin, Puck. The cages were only separated by an open wire partition through which they.could easily see and hear each other, 38 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS, For some weeks I visited Puck almost daily, and in response to his sound for food I always sup- plied him with some nuts, banana, or other food. I never gave him any of these things to eat un- less he would ask me for them in his own speech. On one of my visits my attention was attracted by little Darwin, who was uttering a strange sound which I had never before heard one of his species utter. I did not recognize the sound at first, but very soon discovered that it was in- tended to imitate the sound of the Capuchin, in response to which I always gave Puck some nice morsel of food. Darwin had undoubtedly ob- served that this sound made by Puck was always rewarded with something good to eat, and his evident motive was to secure a like reward. Af- ter this I always gave him some food in acknowl. edgment of his efforts, and I observed, from day to day, that he improved in making this sound until at last it could scarcely be detected from the sound made by Puck. ‘This was accom- plished within a period of less than six weeks from my first visit. In this case, at least, 1 have seen one step taken by a monkey in learning the tongue of another. ‘This was most interesting to me in view of the fact that I had long believed, THE. SPEECH. OF MONKEYS. 39 and had announced as my belief that no mon- key ever acquired the sounds made by another species, or, indeed, ever tried todo so. I admit, however, that this one instance alone is suffi- cient to cause me to recede from a conclusion thus rendered untenable, and the short time in which this one feat was accomplished woulc indicate that the difficulty was not so great as I had re- garded it. I still regard it as a rule, however, that monkeys do not learn each other’s speech, but the rule is not without exceptions. I have observed and called attention to the fact, that when two monkeys of different species are caged together, each one will learn to under- stand the speech of the other, but as a rule will not try to speak it. When he replies at all, it is always in his own vernacular. I wish to impress the fact that monkeys do not generally carry ona connected conversation. Their speech is usually limited to a single sound or remark, which is replied to in the same manner, and to suppose that their conversations are elaborate or of a highly social character is to go beyond the bounds of reason. ‘This is the respect in which the masses fail to understand the real nature of the speech of monkeys or other animals, CHA PPE. V. live Little Brown Cousins: Mickie, Nemo, Dodo, Nigger, and McGinty.—Nemo Apologizes to Dodo. DuRING the past winter there lived in Central Park a bright, fine little monkey by the name of Mickie. He did not belong to the park, but was merely kept as a guest of the city during the absence of his master in Europe. Mickie is a well-built, robust, good-natured monkey of the Capuchin variety. He does not talk much, ex- cept when he wants food or drink, but he and I are the best of friends, and I frequently go into his cage to have a romp with him and his four little cousins. When I first began to visit the park in the fall of 1891 Mickie showed a dis- position to cultivate my acquaintance, and as it ripened into a friendship day by day, we found great pleasure in each other’s society. As the monkey-house was open to the public at g o’clock in the morning, I had to make my calls at sun-. rise or thereabouts in order to avoid the visitors who daily throng this building. THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 41 In this cage was kept another little boarder of the same species which belonged to Mr. G. Hil- ton scribner, of Yonkers. The keeper did not know the name or anything of the past history of this little stranger, and for want of some identity and a name I called him Nemo. He was a timid, taciturn little fellow, quite intelligent, and possessed of an amount of diplomacy equal to that of some human beings. He was the small- est monkey in the cage, on which account he was ' somewhat shy of the others. He was thought- mieepeaiccable but “full or ‘guile.’ Ele" sought on all occasions to keep on the best terms with Mickie, to whom he would toady like a sycophant. He would put his little arms about Mickie’s neck and hang on to him inthe most affectionate man- ner. He would follow him like a shadow and stay by him like a last hope. If anything ever aroused the temper of Mickie it was sure to make Nemo mad too; if Mickie was diverted and would laugh, Nemo would laugh also if he was suffer- ing with a toothache. He was as completely under the control of Mickie as the curl in Mick- ie'stail. When first began to visit them, Nemo would see Mickie bite my fingers while we were playing, and he supposed it was done in anger. 42 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. Nemo never lost a chance to bite my fingers, which he would always do with all his might; but his little teeth were not strong enough to hurt me very much. He would only do this af- ter seeing Mickie bite me, and he did not evince any anger in the act, but appeared to do so merely as a duty. He would sneak up to my hands and bite me unawares; then he would run to Mickie and put his arm about his neck, just as you have seen some boys do when trying to curry favor with a larger boy. On one occasion, while in the cage with them, he slipped up to me and bit my finger, for which I kindly boxed his little ears. I would then give Mickie my finger and allow him to bite it, after doing which I would slap him gently and then give it to him again. I would then allow Nemo to bite my fin- ger, and if he bit it too hard I would slap him again; and in this manner soon taught him to understand that Mickie only bit me in fun, and he evidently learned that this was a fact. He did not appear, however, to catch the point clearly or see any reason therefor, but on all oc- casions thereafter he would take my finger in his mouth and hold it in his teeth, which were scarcely closed upon it. This he would do fora THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 43 minute ata time without having the least apparent motive, except that he had seen Mickie do so. Often while holding my finger in this manner with a look of seriousness worthy a supreme-court judge, he would roll his little eyes at me in the | most inquiring manner, as if to say, “How is that?” When he once realized that Mickie was so much attached to me, Nemo always showed a desire to be on friendly terms with me, and when I would go into the cage to play with Mickie and McGinty he always wanted to be counted in the game. WhenTI had anything for them to eat he always wanted a seat of honor at table, and he would at times want to fight for me when the other monkeys got too friendly. Poor little fel- low, he is now dead; but the image of his cute little face and his original character are deeply imprinted on my mind. I was never able to secure a record of the sounds of his little voice, though I have often heard him talk. He had a soft, musi- cal voice, and great power of facial expression. One of the most remarkable things I have ever observed among monkeys was done by this little fellow. On two separate occasions I have seen him apologize to Dodo in the most humble man- 44 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. ner for something he had done, and I tried very hard to secure a record of this particular speech,: in which I totally failed, as I could not fore- know when such an act would be done, and there- fore could not have my phonograph in place to obtain sucharecord. Icalled the attention of Mr. F.S. Church, the eminent artist, to this act, with the hope that he might be able to make a sketch of Nemo while in this attitude. Ido not know what the offence was, but the pose and expres- sion as well as the speech were very impressive. He sat in acrouching position, with the left hand clasping the right wrist, and delivered his speech ina most energetic but humble manner. The expression on his face could not be misunder- stood. After a few moments he paused briefly, and then seemed to repeat the same thing some two or three times. The manner of his delivery was very suggestive, and his demeanor was con- ciliatory. When he had quite finished his speech, Dodo, to whom the apology was being made, and who had listened to it in perfect silence, deliv- ered a sound blow with her right hand on the left side of the face of the little penitent, to which he responded with a soft cry, while Dodo turned and left him without further debate, I THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 45 also called the attention of the keeper to this act, and he assured me that he had repeatedly wit- nessed thesame. What the subject of his speech was or the cause which brought it about I am not able to say, nor can I say with certainty to what extent he explained; but that it was an apology or explanation of some kind, at least, I have not the slightest doubt. I do not believe, of course, that his speech contained any details concerning the offence; but that it expressed re- egret, penitence, or submission does not, to my mind, admitofadoubt. I have seen a few other cases somewhat similar to this, but none of them comparing, in point of polish and pathos, to that of Nemo in his unique little speech. Nigger was of this same species; he was in poor health most of the winter, being afflicted with some spinal trouble; but notwithstanding his affliction, he was a good talker. His infirm- ity, however, placed him at the mercy of the other inmates of the cage, and as monkeys are naturally cruel and entirely destitute of sym- pathy, the daily life of Nigger could not be ex- pected to be a very happy one. Owing to this state of facts Nigger usually kept to himself and was not intimate with any other monkey in the 46 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. cage. I have frequently given Nigger some choice bits of food while I wasin the cage, and protected him from the other monkeys while he was eating it. This he seemed to fully appreciate, and al- ways located himself at a certain point in the cage where his defence could be effected with the least difficulty. Nigger frequently indulged in the most pathetic and touching appeals to his keeper, and went through many of the gestures, sounds, and contortions which will be described in the next chapter as a part of the speech and conduct of Dodo, some of whose remarkable poses and expressions have been faithfully por- trayed by Mr. Church. Among my personal friends of the simian race there is none more devoted to me than lit- tle McGinty, another winter boarder at Central Park. From the first of my acquaintance with McGinty we have been stanch friends, and when I go to visit him he expresses the most un- bounded delight. He will reach his little arms through the bars of the cage and put his hands on my cheeks, hold his mouth up to the wires, and talk to me at great length. When I go into the cage he will place himself on a perch, where he will sit with his arms around my THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 47 neck, lick my cheeks affectionately, pull my ears, and chatter to me in a sweet but plaintive tone. When Mickie joins the play, which he invariably does, by climbing or jumping on to my shoulders and interrupting the #éte-a-¢¢te between McGinty and myself, poor little McGinty’s jealousy, which is his supreme passion, causes him to retire in dis- gust, and he will sometimes pout for several min- utes without even accepting food fromme. After he has pouted fora while, however, he will some- times make overtures of reconciliation and seek by various means to divert my attention. One of his favorite means of renewing favor with me was to whip poor little Nigger. He would look at me and laugh, grin and make grimaces, and then dash off at Nigger and want to eat him up. He did not seem to understand why I objected to his whipping Nigger. Monkeys do not regard it as a breach of honor to whip the ‘helpless and "feeble members of their tribe. They. are! not unlike a large per cent of mankind. They al- ways hunt for easy prey, and want to fight some- thing thatis easily whipped. They are not great cowards, but when once whipped they rarely attempt the second time to contest matters with their victors. 48 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. In this cage, containing five brown Capuchin monkeys, it was not difficult to see that Mickie ran things to suit himself. McGinty was the only one of the four in the cage with him that ever contested any right with Mickie, and for a long time it was a question in my mind who was to win in the end. The next to him in authority was Dodo, who never attempted to control Mickie or McGinty, but always made Nemo and Nigger stand about. Fourth in line of authority was Nemo, who always resented any offence from others by making Nigger take a corner; and the only victims that Nigger had were the little white-faces, which never fight anything and are always on the run. When it was finally decided between Mickie and McGinty that Mickie should be captain, McGinty readily accepted the place of first lieutenant, which rank he has continued to hold without challenge. When once the question is settled among a cage of simians, the debate does not appear to be renewed at any future time. They never go to court with their grievances, and rarely appeal a second time to force when the question has once been decided against them. Some human beings might profit by studying this trait of monkeys. a CHAPT HR WE. Dago Talks about the Weather.—Tells me of his Troubles.— Dodo in the ‘‘ Balcony Scene.’’—Her Portrait by a Great Artist. ON one of my visits to Chicago in the autumn of 1890 I went to pay my respects to Dago, the little brown monkey in Lincoln Park. He had been sick fora while and had not fully recovered, although he was able to receive visitors, and his appetite for peanuts was fairly well restored. On the morning of which I speak, it was dark and stormy. A fierce wind and terrible rain prevailed from the northwest. I went to the building just after daylight, in order to be alone with the monkey, and when I entered the house Frenchie, the head-keeper, told me how very sick little Dago had been since I had left him on the day before. I approached the cage and be- gan to caress him, to which he replied in low, whimpering tones, as though he understood the nature of what I was saying to him. Presently 4 » 50 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. he raised himself erect upon his hind feet, and placing his hands on his side, pressed and rubbed it as though he was in great pain, and uttered some sounds in a low, piping voice. The sound itself was pathetic, and when accented by his gestures it was really very touching. At this juncture a hard gust of wind and rain dashed against the window near his cage, whereupon the little monkey turned away from me, ran to the window and looked out, and uttered a sound quite different from the ones he had just been delivering to me. Still standing erect he ap- peared deeply interested, and stood for a few moments at the window, during which time he would turn his head toward me and utter this sound. That the sound he uttered was addressed to me could not be doubted, and. his manner in doing so was very human-like. Then returning to me, still standing erect, he would renew his plaintive speech in the most earnest manner, and continue it until another gust would call him to. the window. I observed that each time he went to the window he uttered the same sound, as well as I could detect by ear, and would stand for some time watching out the window, and oc- casionally turn his head and repeat this sound to THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 51 me. When returning to me again he would resume his sad story, whatever it was. Isecured a good record of that part of his speech which was made when near me at the front of the cage, but the remarks made while at the window were not so well recorded, yet they were audible, and I reproduced them on the phonograph at a sub- sequent visit. My opinion was that the sound he uttered while at the window must allude in some way to the state of the weather, and this opinion was confirmed by the fact that on a later occasion, when I repeated the record to him the weather was fair; but when the machine repeated those sounds which he had uttered at the window on the‘ day of the storm, it would cause him to turn away and look out the window; while at the other part of the record he evinced but little interest, and in fact seemed rather to avoid the phonograph, as though the sounds sug- gested something which he disliked. Iam quite sure that the address which he made to me at the front of the cage was a complaint of some kind, and from its intonation and the manner in which it was delivered I believed that it was an expression of pain. It occurred to me that the state of the weather might have something to do 52 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. with his feelings, and that he was conscious of this fact and desired to inform me of it. About a year from that time I became quite intimate with a feeble little monkey which is described elsewhere by the name of Pedro, and of whose speech I made a good record. The sounds of his speech so closely resembled those made by Dago that I was not able to see that they differed in any respect except in loudness. Unfortunately the cylinders containing Dago’s record had been broken in shipping, and I was therefore unable to compare the two by analy- sis; but the sounds themselves resembled in a striking degree, and the manner of delivery was not wholly unlike, except that Pedro did not as- sume the same pose nor emphasize them with the same gestures. During my stay in New York the past winter I have been frequently entertained by a like speech from little Dodo, who was the Juliet of the simian tribe. She belonged to the same species as the others, but her oratory was of a type far superior to that of any other of its kind that I have ever heard. At almost any hour of the day, at the approach of her keeper, she would stand upright and deliver to him the most touch- THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 53 ing and impassioned address. The sounds which she used and the gestures with which she ac- cented them, as far as I could determine, were the same as those used by Dago and Pedro in their remarks to me as above described, except that Dodo delivered her lines in a much more impressive manner than either of the others. I asked the keeper to go into the cage with me, and see if he could take her into his hands. We entered the cage, and after a little coaxing she allowed him to take her into his arms, and after caressing her for a while and assuring her that no harm was meant, she would put her slen- der little arms about his neck and cuddle her head up under his chin like an injured child. She would caress him by licking his cheeks and chattering to him in a voice full of sympathy, with an air of affection worthy of a human being. During most of this time she would continue her pathetic speech without a moment's pause, and was not willing under any conditions to be sep- arated from him. The only time at which she would ever show any anger at me or threaten me with assault would be when I would attempt to lay hands on her keeper or release him from her warm embrace. At such times, however, 54 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. she would fly at me with great fury and attempt to. tear my very clothes off, and on these occa- sions she would not allow any other inmate of the cage to approach him or to receive his atten- tion or caresses. The sounds which she uttered were pitiful at times, and the tale she told must have been full of the deepest woe. I have not been able, up to this time, to translate these sounds literally; but their import cannot be mis- understood. My belief is that her speech was a complaint against the inmates of the cage, and that she was begging her keeper not to leave her alone in that great iron prison with all those big bad monkeys who were so cruel to her. One reason for believing this to be the nature of her speech is that in all cases where I have heard this speech and seen these gestures made, the conditions were such as to indicate that such was its nature. It has, however, every appearance of love-making of the most intense type. It is quite impossible to describe fully and accurately the sounds, and much more so the gestures, made on these occasions, so that the reader would be impressed as with the real act and speech. Dodo would stand erect on her feet, cross her hands on her heart, and in the most touching but ve THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 55 graceful manner go through with the most indescribable contortions. She would sway her body from side to side, turn her head in the most coquettish manner, and move her folded hands dramatically, while her face would be adorned with a simian grin of the first order, and the soft, rich notes of her voice were perfectly mu- sical. She would bend her body into every grace- ful curve that can be imagined, move her feet with the grace of the minuet, and continue her fervent speech as long as the object of her ado- ration appeared to be touched by her appeals. Her voice would range from pitch to pitch and from key to key, and with her arms folded she would glide across the floor of her cage with the grace of a ballet-girl; and I have seen her stand with her eyes fixed upon her keeper, and hold her face in such a position as not to lose sight of him for a moment, and at the same time turn her body entirely around in her tracks with such skill as no contortionist has ever attained. During these orations I have observed the little tears standing in the corners of her eyes, which © indicated that she herself must have felt what her speech was intended to convey. ‘These lit- tle creatures do not shed tears in such abundance 56 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. as human beings do; but they are real tears, and are doubtless the result of the same causes that move the humaan eyes to tears. It has been my experience that these sounds . , appeal directly to our better feelings. What there is in the sound itself I cannot say; but it touches some chord in the human heart which vibrates in response to it. It has impressed me with the thought that all our senses are like the strings of some great harp; each one having a certain tension, so that any sound produced through an emotion would find response in that chord which is in unison with it. Indeed, I have thought that our emotions and sensations may be like the diatonic scale in music, and that the organs through which they act may respond in tones and semi-tones, and that each multiple of any fundamental tone will affect the chord in unison with it like the strings upon a musical instrument. The logical deduction, then, would be that our sympathies and affections are the chords, and our aversions and contempt the dis- cords, of that great harp of passion. CHAPTER VII. Interpretation of Words.—Specific Words and Signs.—The Negative Sign and Sounds.—Affirmative Expressions.— Possible Origin of Negative and Positive Signs. IN my intercourse with these little creatures, I cannot forget how often I have caught the spirit of their tones when no ray of meaning as mere words of speech had dawned upon me, and it is partly through such means that I have been able to interpret them. Asa rule each act of a monkey is attended by some sound, and each sound by some act, which to another monkey of the same species always means a certain thing. There are many cases perhaps, in which acquired words or shades of dialect are not quite clear to them, just as we often find in human speech; but monkeys appear to meet this difficulty and “overcome it just as men do. They talk with one another on a limited number of subjects, but in very few words, which they frequently re- peat if necessary. Their language is purely one of sounds, and while those sounds are ac- companied by signs, generally, I think, they are 58 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. quite able to get along better with the sounds alone than with the signs alone. The rules by which we may interpret the sounds of simian speech are the same as those by which we would interpret human speech. If you should be cast away upon an island inhabited by some strange race of people whose speech was so unlike your own that you could not understand a single word of it, you would watch the actions of those people, and see what act they did in connection with any sound they made; and in this way you would gradually learn to associate a certain sound with a certain act, until at last you would be able to understand the sound without see- ing the act at all; and such is the simple line I have pursued in the study of the speech of this little race—only I have been compelled to resort to some very novel means of doing my part of the talking. Since I have been so long associ- ated with them, I have learned to know in many cases what act they will perform in response to certain sounds; and as I grow more and more familiar with these sounds, I become better able to distinguish them, just as we do with human speech. Until recently I have believed that their sounds THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 59 were so limited in number as to preclude any specific terms in their vocabulary; but now Iam inclined to modify this opinion somewhat, as 1 have reason to believe that they have some spe- cific terms, such as a word for “ monkey,” another word for “fruit,” andsoon. They do not specify, perhaps, the various kinds of monkeys, but mon- keys in general, in contradistinction to birds or dogs. Their word for fruit does not specify the kind, but only means fruit in a collective sense, and only as a kind of food. 1am not pos- itive as yet that their specific terms may even go so far as this; but I infer that such may be the case from one fact which I have observed in my experiments. When I show a monkey his image in a mirror, he utters a sound on seeing it—especially if he has been kept away from other monkeys for a long time; and all monkeys of the Same species, so far as I have observed, under like conditions use the same sound and address itin the same way tothe image in the glass. In a few instances I have seen strange monkeys brought in contact with each other, and have ob- served that they use this same sound on their first meeting. The sound is always uttered in a low, soft tone, and appears to have the value of 60 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. a salutation. When kept in a cage with other monkeys they do not appear to salute the image in the glass, but chatter to it, and show less sur- prise at seeing it than in cases where they have been kept alone for some time. In cases where monkeys have been fed fora long time on bread and milk or on any one kind of food, when a banana is shown him he uses a sound which the phonograph shows to differ slightly from the ordinary food-sound. I have recently had reason to suspect that this differ- ence of inflection somewhat qualifies the sound, and has a tendency to make it more specific. The rapidity with which these creatures utter their speech is so great that only such ears as theirs can detect these very slight inflections. I am now directing my observations and experi- ments to this end, with the hope that I may be able to determine with certainty in what degree they qualify their sounds, by inflections or otherwise. I have observed that in the phonograph the sounds which formerly appeared to me to be the same are easily distinguished when treated in the manner described in the second part of this work, where I have given at length some of my experiments with this wonderful machine. _ ‘THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 61 One of the most certain of my discoveries in the simian speech is the negative sign and the word “no.” The sign is made by shaking the head from side to side in a fashion almost ex- actly like that used by man to express the same idea. I have no longer any doubt of the intent and meaning of this sign, and the many tests to which I have subjected it compel me to accept the result as final. A little more than a year ago my attention was called to this sign by the children who own the little Capuchin, Jack, in Charleston. A number of times they said to him, in my presence: “Jack, you must go to bed.”” At which he would shake his little black head, asif he really did not wish to comply. I watched this with great interest; but it was my belief at that time that he had been trained to do this, and that the sign did not really signify to him anything at all. The chil- dren, however, declared to me that he really meant “no.” To believe that he meant this would presuppose that he understood the combination of words quoted, and this was beyond the limits of my faith, although it was certain that a repe- tition of the sentence always elicited from him the same sign, which indicated that he recog- 62 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. nized it as the same sentence or combination of sounds, and gave it the same reply each time. I concluded that he had been taught to associate this sign with some sound—for instance, “bed” or “go;” but since that time I have found the sign to be almost universal with this species of monkey, and they use the sign to express ne- gation. I have seen them use the sign in re- sponse to certain things which were wholly new to them, but where the idea was clear to them and they desired to express dissent. The fact that this sign is common to both man and sim- ian I regard as more than a mere coincidence, and I believe that in this sign I have found the psycho-physical basis of expression. I have made scores of experiments on this subject, and I find this sign a fixed factor of ex- pression. In one case where I tried to induce a monkey to allow me to take him into my hands from the hand of his master, he would shake his head each time, and make a peculiar sound some- what like a suppressed cluck. I would try to coax him with nuts, in response to which he would make the same sound and sign each time, and his actions showed beyond all controversy his intention. I had taught a monkey to drink THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 63 milk from a bottle by sucking it through a rub- ber nipple, and after he had satisfied his thirst, when I would try to force the bottle to his lips he would invariably respond by a shake of the head in the manner described, and at “the same _ time utter a clucking sound. I tried many sim- ilar experiments with three or four other mon- keys, and secured the same result in each case. In another instance, where a monkey was con- fined in a small cage, so that I could easily catch him in order to tame him by handling, when 1 would put my hand into the cage to catch him he would shake his head in this manner and ac- company the act by a plaintive sound, which was so touching that I could not obtain my own con- sent to persecute the little prisoner by compelling him to submit tomycaresses. I have found that the little rogue McGinty, in Central Park, does the same thing at times when I go into the cage and attempt to put my hands on him, and espe- cially when he has taken refuge in a corner to nurse his jealousy. While I remain outside the cage he is so devoted to me that he will scarcely leave me to get something to eat; but when I enter the cage and reach out my hand toward him, he will shake his little head and utter that 64 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS, peculiar clucking sound. Many of these tests I have repeated over and over with the same re- sults, and noting the conditions at the time, I am thoroughly convinced that the sign and sound mean “no.” I have observed that this sign is always made in the same manner; but sometimes it is accompanied by a clucking sound, while at other times it is a soft, whimpering sound, al- most like a low, plaintive whistle. The sign is frequently used without the sound at all; and I must impress it upon my reader that these re- sults do not always present themselves in every experiment, as much depends upon the mood and surroundings of the subject. I have found that one advantage is to have the monkey con- fined in a very small cage, as otherwise he will turn away and get out of your reach when you press anything upon him that he does not want. I have also found much better results by having the monkey alone, and where he can neither see nor hear other monkeys. Having discovered the sign of negation among the simians, I began an investigation to ascer- tain how far it could be found among the races of mankind. I have carried my search far be- yond the limits of local inquiry, and up to this — THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 65 time I have found only a few trifling exceptions in the use of this sign among all the races of men, and those few exceptions are found among the Caucasian race, and appear to be confined to Southern Europe. I have heard that among certain island tribes of Polynesia these signs are reversed; but I have been assured by two officers of the English navy and two of the United States navy, who have visited the islands in question, that such is not the case. Among the Indians, Mongolians, and Negroes I have found no note- worthy exceptions. I have inquired among mothers who have raised families to ascertain where they first observed this sign as an expres- sion among their children; and from the con- sensus of opinion it appears that this is about the first sign used by infants to express nega- tion. I have not found the positive sign, or sign of affirmation by a nod of the head, to beso general; yet it hasa wide range within the human family, and appears to be used to some extent among the lower primates. Seeking a source from which these signs may have originated, I have concluded that they may arise from two circumstances: The negative 5 66 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. sign, doubtless, comes from an effort to turn the head away from something which is not desired, and that, with such an intent, it has gradually crystallized into an instinctive expression of nega- tion or refusal; while the nod of affirmation or approval may have grown out of the intuitive lowering of the head as an act of submission or acquiescence, or from reaching the head forward to receive something desired, or it may have come from these two causes conjointly. This is only one of a great many points in which the speech of simians coincides with that of man. It is true we have no letters in our alphabet with which to represent the sounds of their speech, nor have we the phonetic equiva- lence of their speech in our language; but it is also true that our alphabet does not fully repre- sent or correctly express the entire phonetic range of our own speech; but the fact that our speech is not founded upon the same phonetic basis, or built up into the same phonetic struct- ures, is no reason that their speech is not as truly speech as our own. ‘That there are no letters in any alphabet which represent the phonetic elements of simian speech is doubtless due to the fact that there has never been any demand THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 67 for such; but the same genius that invented an alphabet for human speech, actuated by the same motives and led by the same incentives, could as easily invent an alphabet for simian speech. It is not only true that the phonetic ele- ments of our language are not represented by the characters of our alphabet, but the same is true to some extent of our words which do not quite keep pace with human thought. In the higher types of human speech there are thou- sands of words and ideas which cannot be trans- lated into or expressed by any savage tongue, because no savage ever had use for them and no savage tongue contains their equivalence. The growth of speech is always measured by the growth of mind. ‘They are not always of the same extent, but always bear a common ratio. It is a mental product, and must be equal to the task of coining thoughtsinto words. It is essen- tial to all social order, and no community could long survive as such without it. It is as much the product of mind and matter as salt is the product of chlorine and sodium. CHAPTER VIL Meeting with Nellie.—Nellie was my Guest.—Her Speech and Manners —The Little Blind Girl.—One of Nellie’s : Friends. —Her Sight and Hearing. —Her Toys and how she ; Played with them. ONE of the most intelligent of all the brown Capuchins that I have ever seen was Nellie, who belonged to a dealer in Washington. When she arrived there I was invited to call and see her. I introduced myself in my usual way, by giving her the sound for food, to which she promptly replied. She was rather informal, and we were soon engaged in a chat on that subject—the one above all others that would interest a monkey. On my second visit she was like an old acquaint- ance, and we had a fine time. On my third visit she allowed me to put my hands into her cage and handle her with impunity. On my next visit I took her out of the cage and we had a real romp. This continued for some days, during which time she would answer me on all occasions when I used the word for food or drink. She had grown quite fond of me, and always recog- THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 69 nized me as I entered the door. About this time there came to Washington a little girl who was deaf, dumb, and blind. She was accompanied by her teacher, who acted as her interpreter. One of the greatest desires of this little girl’s life was to see a live monkey—that is, to see it with herfingers. The dealer who owned the monkey sent for me to come down and show it to her, as I could handle the monkey for her. I took Nel- le from the cage, and when any one except my- self would put hands upon her she would growl and scold and show her temper; and when the little blind girl first attempted to put her hands on her, Nellie did not like itatall. I stroked the child’s hair and cheeks with my own hand first, and then with Nellie’s. She looked up at me in an inquiring manner, and uttered one of those soft, flute-like sounds a few times, and then be- gan to pull at the cheeks and ears of the child. Within afew moments they were like old friends and playmates, and for nearly an hour they afforded each other great pleasure, at the end of which time they separated with reluctance. The ‘little simian acted as if she was conscious of the sad affliction of the child, but seemed at per- fect ease with her, although she would decline 7O THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. the tenderest approach of others. She would look at the child's eyes, which were not disfig- ured, but lacked expression, and then at me, as if to indicate that she was aware that the child was blind, and the little girl appeared not to be aware that monkeys could bite at all. It was a beautiful and touching scene, and one in which the lamp of instinct shed its feeble ight on all around. ) On the following day, by an accident in which Ireally had no part except that of being present, Nellie escaped from her cage and climbed up on a shelf occupied by some bird-cages. As she attempted to climb up, of course the light wicker cages, with their little yellow occupants, fell to the floor by the dozen. I tried to induce her to return or to come to me; but the falling cages, the cry of the birds, the talking of parrots, and the scream of other monkeys frightened poor Nellie almost out of her wits. Thinking that I was the cause of her trouble, because I was pres- ent, she would scream with fright at my ap- proach. She was not an exception to the gen- eral rule that governs monkeydom, which is to suspect every one of doing wrong except itself. ~ I had her removed to my apartments, where I THE SPEECH. OF MONKEYS. Fpl supplied her with bells and toys and fed her on the fat of the land; and by this means we slowly knitted together the broken bones of our friend- ship once more. But when once a monkey has grown suspicious of you they never recover en- tirely from it, it seems, for in every act there- after, however slight, you can readily see that they suspect you of it; but with great care and caution you can make them almost forget the trouble. While I kept Nellie at my rooms I made some good records of her speech on the phonograph, and studied her with special care; but as the prov-’ ince of this work is the speech of that little race, I must forego the pleasure of telling some in- tensely funny things with which she entertained me, except in so far as they are relevant to speech. A frequent and welcome visitor to my study was a bright little boy about six years old, for whom Nellie entertained a great fondness, as she also did for my wife. At the sight of the boy Nellie would go into perfect raptures, and when he would leave her she would call him so ear- nestly and whine so pitifully that one could not refrain from sympathy. On his return she would laugh audibly and give every sign of ex- 2 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. treme joy. She never tired of his company, nor gave any part of her attention to others when he was present. Some children living next door to me found great delight in calling to see Nel- lie, and she always evinced great pleasure at their visits. On these occasions Nellie made it a point to entertain them, and showed herself to the best advantage. When I wished to make a good record of her sounds, and especially of her laughter, I would always bring the little boy to my aid. The boy would conceal himself in the room, and after Nellie would call him a few times he would jump out from his place of con- cealment and surprise her, whereupon she would laugh till she could be heard through the whole house; and in this manner I secured some of the best records I have ever made of the laughter of amonkey. Then when the boy would conceal himself again, I secured the peculiar sound with which she would try to attract his attention. The sound which she used in calling him or my wife was unlike that which she made for any other purpose; and while it is difficult to say whether the grammatical value of this sound is that of a noun or of a verb, it is evident that it was used for the special purpose of calling or } THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 72 attracting attention. If its value is that of a noun, it has not in my opinion any specific char- acter, but a term which would be applied alike to boys, monkeys, horses, birds, or any other thing which she might desire to call. If in its nature it is a verb, it is equivalent to the name of the act and combines the force of the imper- ative and infinitive moods. The uniform expression of the emotions of man and simian is such as to suggest that if thought was developed from emotion and speech was developed from thought, the expressions of emo- tion were the rudiments from which speech is developed. A striking point of resemblance between hu- man speech and that of the simian is found in a word which Nellie used to warn me of approach- ing danger. It is not that sound which I have elsewhere described as the alarm-sound, and which is used only in case of imminent and awful danger, but a sound used in case of re- mote danger or in announcing something un- usual. As nearly as I can represent the. sound by letters it would be “e-c-g-k,” and with this word I have been warned by these little friends many times since I first heard it from Nellie, 74 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. In the following experiment this sound was used with great effect. Nellie’s cage occupied a place in my study near my desk. She would stay awake at night as long as the light was kept burning, and as I have always kept late hours, I did not violate the rule of my life in order to give her a good night’s rest. About two o’clock one morning, when I was about to retire, I found Nellie wide awake. I drew my chair up to her cage, and sat watching her pranks as she tried to entertain me with bells and toys. I tieda long thread to a glove, which I placed in the corner of the room at a distance of several feet from me, but without letting her see it. I held one end of the string in my hand and drew the glove obliquely across the floor toward the cage. When I first tightened the string, which I had drawn across one knee and under the other, the glove moved very slightly, and this her quick eye caught at the first motion. Standing almost on tip-toe, her mouth half-open, she would peep cautiously at the glove, and then in a low whis- per would say “e-c-g-k!” and every second or so would repeat it, at the same time watching me to see whether I was aware of the approach of this goblin. Her actions were almost human, —_ THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 75 while her movements were as stealthy as those of acat. As the glove came closer and closer she became more and more demonstrative, and when at last she saw the monster climbing up the leg of my trousers she uttered the sound aloud and very rapidly, and tried to get to the object, which she evidently thought was some living thing. She detected the thread with which I drew the glove across the floor, but seemed in doubt as to what part it played in this act. I saw her eyes several times follow the thread from my knee to the glove, but I do not think she discovered what caused the glove to move. Having done this for a few times, how- ever, with about the same result each time, I re- lieved her anxiety and fright by allowing her to examine the glove, which she did with marked interest for a moment, and then turned away. I tried the same thing over again, but failed to elicit from her the slightest interest after she had examined the glove. It will be observed that when Nellie first discovered the glove moving on the floor she attempted to call my attention in a low whis- per; that as the object approached me she be- eame more earnest, uttered the sound somewhat at 76 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. louder, and when she discovered the monster, as she regarded it, climbing up my leg she uttered her warning in a loud voice—not a scream ora yell, but in a tone sufficiently loud for the dis- tance over which the warning was conveyed. The fact of her whispering indicates that her idea of sound was well defined. Her purpose was to warn me of the approaching danger with- out alarming the object against which her warn- ing was intended to prepare me, and as the dan- ger approached me her warning became more urgent, and when she saw the danger was at hand, her warning was no longer concealed or restrained. Another sound which these little creatures use in a somewhat similar manner is a word which may be represented by the letters “c-h-i.” The “ch” is guttural, like the final “ch” in German, and “i” short, like the sound ofiin “hit.” This sound is used to give warning of the approach of something which the monkey does not fear, such as approaching footsteps or the sound of voices, and Nellie always used this sound to warn my wife of my approach when I was com- ing up the stairway. The rooms which I occu- pied while I kept Nellie were located on the sec- THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 77 ond floor, and the dining-room was on the ground- floor, and hence there were two flights of stairs between, both of which were carpeted. So acute was her sense of hearing that she would detect my footsteps on the lower stairway and warn my wife of my approach. She manifested no inter- est, as arule, in the sounds made by other per- sons passing up and down the stairway, which indicated that she not only heard the sounds of my footsteps, but recognized them. The first intimation she would give of my coming was always in a whisper. She would first make the sound “c-h-i’’ and then stop and listen. She would repeat the sound and listen again; as I approached the door in the hall she would lift her voice to its natural pitch and utter this sound three or four times in quick suc- cession; when I turned the door-knob she would show some excitement, and when I entered the room she would always express her satis- faction with a little chuckle. This sound she did not use except to announce something of which she was not afraid, but when she ap. prehended danger from the cause of the sound she would use the word “e-c-g-k,” and when greatly alarmed she would use the sound which 78 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. I have described elsewhere: as that of intense alarm or assault. Nellie was an affectionate little creature, and could not bear to be left alone even when sup- plied with toys and everything she wanted to eat. When she saw me put on my overcoat or get my hat and cane she knew what it meant, and when she saw my wife, to whom she was much devoted, put on her cloak and bonnet she at once foresaw that she would be left alone. Then she would plead and beg and chatter until she would sometimes dissuade my wife, and she seemed aware that she had ac- complished her purpose. I have watched her by the hour through a small hole in the door, and when quite alone. she would play with her toys in perfect silence, and sometimes for hours to- gether she would not utter a single word. She was not an exception to the rule which I have mentioned heretofore, that monkeys do not talk when alone or when it is not necessary to their comfort or pleasure; and while I am aware that their speech is far inferior to human speech, yet in it there is an eloquence that soothes and a meaning that appeals to the human heart. CHAPTER IX. Nellie’s Affections.—A Little Flirtation.—Some of my Per- sonal Friends. NELLIE had spent much of her life in captiv- ity, and had been used to the society of children, for whom she showed the greatest fondness. She rarely ever betrayed the slightest aversion to any of them. She delighted to pattheir cheeks, pull their ears, and tangle their hair. One of her favorite pastimes was to pull the hairpins out of my wife’s hair so that she could get hold of it the better to play with it, and my wife has often remarked that Nellie would make an excellent lady’s maid. She would clean one’s finger-nails with the skill of a manicure. She would pick every shred, ravelling, or speck from one’s cloth- ing. Her aversions and her attachments were equally strong. She was not selfish in selecting her friends, nor did she seem to be influenced by age or beauty. To let her out of her cage and give her some- thing to play with was happiness enough for her, 80 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. and I almost think she preferred such a life to the freedom of her Amazon forests. But you cannot afford to turn one out of the cage in a room where there is anything that can be torn or broken, as they enjoy such mischief in the highest degree. Nellie would beg me so pite- ously to be taken from her little iron prison that I could not have the cruelty to refuse her, even at the cost of some trouble in preparing the room for her; and as we retain these little cap- tives against their will and treat them worse than slaves by keeping them in close confinement, I think we should at least try to amuse them. It is true they do not have to toil, but I think it would be more humane to make them work in the open air than to confine them so closely and then deprive them of every source of pleasure. As an act of humanity and simple justice, I would impress upon those who have such little pets how important a thing it is to keep them sup- plied with toys. They are just like children in this respect, and for a trifle one can furnish them with all the toys they need. It is cruel, absolutely cruel, to keep these little creatures confined in solitude and deny them the simple pleasure they find in playing with a bell, ball, or : | — THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 81 marbles, and besides, a trifling outlay in this way will very much prolong their lives. A mon- key is always happy if he has something to play ~ with and plenty to eat. I do not know of any investment of mine which ever yielded sucha great return in pleasure as one little pocket match- ' safe, which cost me twenty-five cents and which I gave to Nellie one evening to play with. I had put into it a small key to make it rattle, and also some bits of candy. She rattled the box, and found some pleasure in the noise it made. I showed her a few times how to press the spring in order to open it, but her little black fingers were not strong enough to release the spring and make the lid fly open. However, she caught the idea, and knew that the spring was the secret which held it, and when she found that she could not open it with her fingers, she tacd 4b with her teeth. Failing in this she turned to the wall, and standing upright on the top of her cage, she took the box in both hands and struck the spring against the wall until the lid flew open. She was perfectly delighted at the result, and for the hundredth time at least I closed the box for her to open again. On the following day, when some friends came in to 6 5 82 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. visit her, I gave her the match-box to opeii again. On this occasion, however, she was in her cage, and could not reach the wall through its meshes, and hence had nothing against which to strike the spring to force it open. After looking around her in all directions and striking the box against the wires of her cage a few times, she discovered a block of wood about six inches in length and breadth by an inch thick; this she took and mounted her perch. Balancing the block on the perch, she held it with the left foot while with her right foot she held on to the perch, and with her tail wound through the meshes of her cage to steady herself, she carefully adjusted the match-box in her hands in such a manner as to protect her fingers frum the blow. Then strik- ing the spring against the block of wood the lid flew open, and she fairly screamed with delight and held the box up with pride, wanting me to close the lid again, in order that she might open it. Finding that the late hours which I kept were beginning to tell on Nellie, and that during the day from time to time I would catch her taking a little nap, I concluded to use some curtains around her cage to avoid disturbing her rest. I ——— ne THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 83 drew them around the cage, lapped them over, and pinned them down in front. Then I turned down the light and kept quiet for a while to al- low her to go to sleep. After the lapse of a few minutes I slowly turned up the light and re- sumed my writing. In an intstant I heard the curtains rustle and looked around, and there I saw her little brown eyes peeping through the folds of the curtains, which she held apart with her little black hands. When she saw what it was that caused all this disturbance she chattered to me in her soft, rich tones, and tried so hard to pull the curtains apart that I removed them from her cage, sothat she could look around the room. To see her holding the curtains apart in that graceful manner, turning her head from side to side, peeping and smiling at me and talking in such low tones, was so much like a real flirtation that one who has not seen the like cannot fully appreciate it. And only those who have experi- enced the warm and unselfish friendship of these little creatures can realize how strong the attach- ment becomes. When once you enjoy the con- fidence of a monkey nothing can shake it ex- cept some act of your own or one at least which Uieverctinibuse to you... Their little ears’ are 84 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. proof against gossip and their tongues are free from it. Among the little captives of the simian race who spend their life in iron prisons to gratify the cruelty of man, and not to expiate some crime committed or inherent, I have many little friends to whom I am attached, and whose de- votion to me is as warm and sincere, so far as I can see, as that of any human being. I must confess that I cannot discern in what intrinsic way the love they have for me differs from my own for them. I cannot see in what respect their love is less divine than is my own. I can- not see in what respect the affections of a dog for a kind master differ from those of a child for a kind parent; nor can I see in what respect the sense of fear for a cruel master differs from that of a child foracruel parent. It is mere senti- ment that ascribes to those of a child a higher source than the same passions in the dog; the dog could have loved or feared another master just as well; and filial love or fear would have reached out its tendrils just as far with all the ties of kindred blood removed. It has been said that one is able to assign a definite reason why and that the other is a vague impulse; but I am THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 85 too obtuse to understand how reason actuates to love and instinct toa mere attachment. I cannot believe that in the essential and ultimate nature of these passions there can be shown any real difference. Whether it be reason or instinct in man, the affections of the lower animals are actuated by the same motives, governed by the same conditions, and guided by the same reasons as those of man. I shall not soon forget some of my monkey friends, and I am sure they will not forget me; for I see them sometimes after months of absence, and they usually recognize me at sight and show every sign of pleasure at _my return. CHAPTER: X. The Capuchin Vocabulary.—What I Have Found.—What I Foresee in it. Up to this time I have been able to determine, with a fair degree of certainty, nine words or sounds belonging to Capuchins, some of which sounds are so inflected as to have two or three different meanings, I think. The sound which I have translated food, and found to have a much wider meaning, long perplexed me, because I found it used under so many conditions, and had not been able to detect any difference of mod- ulation. I find one form of this sound used for food in general, but when modulated in a certain way seems to specify the kind of food. I ob- served that this sound seemed to be a salutation or peace-making term with them, which I attrib- uted to the fact that food was the central thought of every monkey’s life, and that consequently that word would naturally be the most important of his whole speech. During the past winter I found that another modulation of this word ex- 86 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 87 pressed a wish to obtain a thing, and appeared to me to be almost equivalent to the verb “ give,” when used in the imperative mood; something iiemrnicn Give me that.’ 1 have succeeded a great number of times, by the use of this word, in inducing McGinty to give me a part of his food, and on many occasions to hand me from his cage a ball, a club, or some such thing that I had given him to play with. Under suitable conditions I could soon determine to what ex- tent these inflections control their actions, but with the surroundings of a zodlogical garden the task is very difficult. However, I am quite sat- isfied that the sound which I have translated food is Shaded by them into several kindred meanings. The word “drink” appears to be more fixed, both in its form and meaning. I have not yet been able to detect any difference in the sound whether water, milk, or other liquids be desired; but this is quite natural, since they have but lit- tle variety in the things they drink. I am not sure how far the sound which I had thought meant “weather,” or in some way allud- ed to the state of the weather, may be relied upon as a separate word. It was so closely connected to the speech of discontent or pain 88 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYs: when made by little Dago that I have not been able since to separate the sounds, and I finally abandoned it as a separate word; but reviewing my work, and recalling the peculiar conduct of this monkey and the conditions attending it, I believe it is safe to say that he had in mind the state of the weather. The sound which I have translated “love” is only in the sense of firm and ardent friendship. The expressions of love between sexes I have not been able, as yet, to find with certainty.