Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of AnimalsLee, R., Mrs.
General
Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals
Lee, R., Mrs.
Animal behavior -- Juvenile literature
A much better disposed monkey belonged to my eldest daughter; and we
brought him to England from the Gambia. He seemed to know that he could
master the child, and did not hesitate to bite and scratch her whenever
she pulled him a little harder than he thought proper. I punished him
for each offence, yet fed and caressed him when good; by which means I
possessed an entire ascendancy over him. He was very wretched in London
lodgings, where I was obliged to fasten him to the bars of a stove, and
where he had no fresh air; and he was no sooner let loose than he tried
to break everything within his reach; so I persuaded his young mistress
to present him to the Jardin des Plantes. I took him there; and during
my stay in that place paid him daily visits. When these were
discontinued, the keeper told me that he incessantly watched for my
return, and it was long before he recovered his disappointment, and made
friends with his companions in the same cage. Two years after, I again
went to see him; and when I stood before him and said, "Mac, do you know
me?" he gave a scream of delight, put both his paws beyond the bars,
stretched them out to me, held his head down to be caressed, uttering a
low murmur, and giving every sign of delighted recognition.
The most melancholy of all monkeys is, apparently, the Chimpanzee; and
although he has perhaps evinced more power of imitating man than any
other, he performs all he does with a sad look, frequently accompanied
by petulance, and occasional bursts of fury. One of the smaller species,
such as those which at different times have been brought to England and
Paris, was offered to Mr. Bowdich for purchase, while our ship lay in
the river Gaboon. His owner left him with us for four weeks, during
which time I had an opportunity of watching his habits. He would not
associate with any other of the tribe, not even the irresistible Jack;
but was becoming reconciled to me, when one unlucky day I checked his
dawning partiality. He followed me to the Panther's cage, and I shall
never forget the fearful yell which he uttered. He fled as swiftly as
possible, overturning men and boys in his way, with a strength little to
be expected from his size, nor did he stop till he had thrust himself
into a boat sail on the after-deck, with which he entirely covered
himself, and which was thenceforward his favourite abode. It was several
days before I could reinstate myself in his good opinion, for he
evidently thought I had had something to do with the panther. The latter
had been in such a fury, that the sailors thought he would have broken
his cage; and he continued restless and watchful for hours afterwards,
proving that the chimpanzee is found in his country of Ashanti, further
to the north than we had imagined. We did not buy the animal, on account
of the exorbitant sum asked for him, and the risk of his living during a
long voyage. He was always very sad, but very gentle; and his attachment
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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