Apes and Monkeys: Their Life and LanguageGarner, R. L. (Richard Lynch)
Science
Apes and Monkeys: Their Life and Language
Garner, R. L. (Richard Lynch)
Apes; Monkeys; Sound production by animals; Speech
On arriving at the end of our long and arduous voyage, I secured
quarters for the apes and quickly had them stowed away in a warm,
sunny cage. Elisheba began to recover from the fatigue and worry of
the journey, and for a while was more cheerful than she had been at
any time since I had known her. Her appetite returned, the symptoms of
fever passed away, and she seemed benefited rather than injured by the
voyage. Aaron was in the best of health and had shown no signs of any
evil results from the trip.
On reaching the landing-stage in Liverpool, some friends who met us
there expressed a desire to see the apes, and for that purpose I opened
their cage in the waiting-room. When they beheld the throng of huge
figures with white faces, long skirts, and big coats, they were almost
frantic with fear. They had never before seen anything like it, and
they crouched back in the corner of the cage, clinging to each other
and screaming in terror. When they saw me standing by them, they rushed
to me, seized me by the legs, and climbed up to my arms. Finding they
were safe here, they stared for a moment, as if amazed at the crowd;
then Elisheba buried her face under my chin and refused to look at any
one. They were both trembling with fright, and I could scarcely get
them into their cage again; but after they were installed in their
quarters with Dr. Cross, who was to have charge of them, they became
reconciled to the sight of strangers in such costumes. In their own
country they had never seen anything like it, for the natives, to whom
they were accustomed, wear, as a rule, no clothing except a small piece
of cloth tied round the waist, and the few white men they had seen
were mostly dressed in white; but here was a great crowd of creatures
in skirts and overcoats, and I have no doubt that to them it was a
startling sight when seen for the first time.
During the first two weeks after arriving at Liverpool, Elisheba
improved in health and temper, until she was not like the same
creature; but about the end of that time she contracted a severe cold.
A deep, dry cough, attended by pains in the chest and sides, together
with a piping hoarseness, betrayed the nature of her disease and gave
just cause for apprehension. During frequent paroxysms of coughing she
pressed her hands upon her breast or side, to arrest the shock and thus
lessen the pain it caused. When quiet, she sat holding her hands on her
throat, her head bowed down and her eyes drooping or closed. Day by day
the serpent of disease drew his deadly coils closer and closer about
her wasting form; but she bore it with a patience worthy of a human
being.
[Illustration: ELISHEBA AND AARON (From a Photograph.)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account