The Speech of MonkeysGarner, R. L. (Richard Lynch)
Science
The Speech of Monkeys
Garner, R. L. (Richard Lynch)
Monkeys; Sound production by animals; Speech
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 what he really said to
me in this record than if it had contained only some casual remark not
addressed to me. This little Simian was born in the Amazon Valley in
Brazil, and was named for the late Emperor.
[Sidenote: PUCK AND THE PHONOGRAPH]
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 kept a
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. I had 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 allowing him to see anything move. After a
time, when everything was quiet, I set the machine in motion and treated
him to a phonographic recital by little Pedro. This speech was
distinctly delivered through the horn to Puck, from whose actions it was
evident that he recognised it as the voice of one of his tribe. He
looked at the 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, apparently somewhat afraid. Again the horn delivered 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 evident suspicion, and scarcely ventured to
answer any sound it made. When I had delivered to him the contents of
the record I entered the room again, and this seemed to afford him some
relief.
[Sidenote: PUCK'S VOICE AND ACTIONS]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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