Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1850-08-05
An Army of Monkeys.

| A Nouez Suspension Brsdge.--"They
are commencing towards the Bridge; they
will most likely cross by the rocks yonder, !"
observed Raoul.
sHow-swim it," asked. 1t is tor.
rent there ... -..s
ooh, mol" answered the Frenchman:-
monkeys would rather go into fire than
water. If they cannot leap the stream they
will bridge it,
Bridge it, and how?"
"Stop moment, Captain-you shall
see." =. ..... ,--.
The half human voices now sounded
nearer, and we could perceive that the ami
mails were approaching the spot where we
lay. Presently they appeared upon the op-
posite bank, headed by an old grey chief
tain, and oficered like SO many soldiers.
They were, as Raoul stated, of the conaad-
reja, or ringtailed tribe. -..A
'One-an aid-de-canp, or chief pioneer,
perhaps-ran out upon the projecting rock,
and, after looking across the stream as if
calculating the distance, scampered back
and appeared te communicate with the lead
er. This produced movement in the
troop. Commands were issued, and fa-
tigue parties were detailed and marched to
the front. Meanwhile several of the COM
adreias engineers, no doubt-ran along
the bank examining the trees on both sides
of the arroyo.
At length they all collected around a tall
cottonwood, that grew over the narrowest
part Of the stream, and twenty or thirty of
them scampered up its trunk. On reaching
high point, the foremost-a strong fellow
ran out upon limb, and taking several
turns of his tail around it, slipped off and
hung his head downwards. The next on
the limb, also stout one, climbed down
the body of the first and whipped his tail
tightly around the neck and fore arm of the
latter. dropped off in turn and hung his
head down. The third repeated this ma
neuver upon the second, and the fourth up.
on the third, and SO on, until the last one
upon the string rested his forehead upon
the ground.
The living chain now commenced swing
ing backwards and forwards, like the pen
dulum of clock. The motion was slight
at first, but gradually increased, the lower
most monkey striking his hands violently
on the earth as he passed the tangent and
ocillating curve. Several others upon the
the limbs above aided the movement.
This continued until the monkey at the
end of the chain was thrown rmong the
branches of tree on the opposite bank.
Here, after two or three vibrations, he
clutched limb and held fast. This move
ment was executed adroitly, just at the cul-
minating point of the oscillation, in order to
save the intermediate links from the violence
of too sudden jerk.
The chain was fast at both ends, forming
complete suspension bridge, over which
the which the whole troop, to the number
of four or five hundred, passed with the ra-
pidity of the light.
It was one of the most comical sights |
ever beheld, to witness the quizzical ex-
preston of countenances along that living
chain!
The troop was now on the other side,
but how were the animals forming the
bridge to get themselves over? This was
tho question which suggested itself. Man
ifestly, by number one letting go his tail.
But when the point d'app"i on the other
side was much lower down, and number
one, with half-a-dozen Of his neighbors,
would be dashed against the opdosite bank,
or soused into the water.
Here, then, was problem, and we wait
ed with some curiosity for its solution. 1t
was soon solved. A monkey was now seen
attaching his tail to the lowest on the bridge,
another girded him in similar manner, and
another, and so on, until dozen more
were added to the string. Those last were
all powerful fellows, and running up to a
high limb, they lifted the bridge into po-
sition almost horizontal
Then a scream from the last monkey of
the new formation warned the tail end that
all were ready; and the next moment the
whole chain was swung over, and landed
safely on the opposite bank. The lever
most links now dropped off like melting
candle, while the higher ones leaped to the
branches and came down by the trunk.
The whole troop then scampered off into the
ebapparral and disappeared!-Capt. Read 5
! Adventures in South America. ..