Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-04-20
ice what remains and keep the girls as
fresh and pure as is possible In these
odd days Of ours.
A MONKEYS FINISHING
SCHOOL.

OOU OeyS VI OuASs ~
A MONKEYS FINISHING
SCHOOL.
Where the Humble simian Baby Acquires
his sShines''
From the New York World.
Monkeys are not born educated any
more than men and women. They
require to be taught, and are obliged
to study hard before they reach that
state of development in which they
are frequently found in circuses, at
side shows, on street organs, and in
other walks Of monkey life. In their
primitive condition monkeys are not
at all more intelligent than babies,
but they have much more aptitude for
acquiring knowledge, and are more
amenable to dicipline than the young
ones of the human race. A large
number of monkeys are educated
in New York, whence they are
sent to delight the hearts of small
boys and sight.seer all over the coun-
try. Unfortunately they have not the
advantages that human beings have;
their early surroundings are the re-
verse of respectable, and their III.
structors are generally men and boys
who failed to distinguish themselves
in other and higher avocations.
The writer recently visited s'a young
monkeys finishing school," situated
on Baxter street, near Worth. On ar.
irving at No. Ii he inquired of an
italian fruit vender the way to the in
stitution. and was led through an al
ley strewn with garbage, dust, and
rags, up the rickety staircase of a two
story hut in the rear, into il room
about ten feet by eight, in which
were found three m"n, two boys, two
half.naked children, large dog, a
small monkey, two bedsteads, barrel
of rotten fruit, and an ex.Cnited States
soldier waiting with his organ, which
was in need of repairs. The windows,
the panes of which were composed in
equal parts of glass, paper, rags, and
shoes, looked out upon back yard in
which was hung an abundance of
linen recently washed, but, Judging
from the appearance of the men in the
neighborhood, not for the indwellers
Of the house. The proprietor Of the
establishment, an old and almost blind
Italian who, although he has for
years been travelling about in the
country educating monkeys in New
Orleans and California, cannot speak a
word of English, introduced himself.
He expatiated in terms of warm
praise, bad French, and worse Italian,
on the peculiar characteristics of the
monkey and the unfailing effect of his
method of instruction.
The monkey was then taken out of
his box, and the old Italian having
picked up the two children and chuck
ed them into corner and rolled the
barrel of rotten fruit over to eepthem
company. space was cleared for his
performance. The animal began, of
his own accord, by standing on his
head, turning somersault, and pull
ing the writer's walking-stick out of
his hand. But the professor seemed
to reprehend this unprovoked activi-
ty, and his pupil was promptly brought
to order by the sight of a stout riding
whip. Then, all being in order, the
monkey went through military move
ments with gun, stood on his head,
danced hornpipe, and after much
persuasion with the stock of the
gun, walked the length of the room on
his forelegs. The company then ad-
journed to the back yard aforemention-
ed, where the dog was saddled and the
monkey mounted him and rode around
the place in the most manly style.
The professor said it had taken him
nearly six months to teach the monk.
ey the tricks he knew, and he did not
consider him perfect yet. Neverthe.
less, he would sell him to a circus for
$500. Ho had got him from an i'm
porter of monkeys, who had brought
him from Africa. He had recently
sold several little black monkeys, Ca.
puchins he called them, at prices rang
ing from $40 to $3.50, according to the
number of tricks they could perform ;
he charged so much for each monkey
and so much extra for each trick. He
did not think there was any profit in
selling one monkey at time; he makes
most by selling several together. He
gets most of his animals from the i'm
porters those which are tractable he
trains for shows, circuses, and organs,
and those which are not tractable he
sells to the Park Commissioners for
exhibition IN Central Park.
Continuing his tour around Baxter
street the writer learned that there
was scarcely one Italian peanut mer.
chant or ragpicker who had not at
least one monkey for sale. Some of
them go about with their pets conceal
ed OH their persons, always ready to
produce them when there seems to be
prospect of a trade. Others leave
them at home, spending their leisure
hours in training them in hope that
they will eventually bring good price.
Among these men the monkey has a
reputation for gentleness of disposition
and docility of character which is
hardly borne out by the manner in
which they treat them. The monkeys
all seem to understand Italian, French,
and English equally well, and the sad
cast of their countenances apparently
shows that with them, at least, tai.
emit for modern languages is matter
of life and death.
The largest dealer in monkeys in the
city is 4 man in Carbon street, near
the Bowery. He buys his animals di.
rect from the importer, and has a stock
Ou uduu luC4uuIllS specimens VI tnt
Capuchin, native of Gueina, the ca.
cajo of South Africa, the ape, the goril.
Ia, the baboon, and the chimprnzee.
They range in price from SIS for ba.
by monkey to ST 500 for Il large, full.
grown baboon. They are all uneducat-
ed and have yet to be trained before
they can be of much use to the circus.
es and sideshowmen for whom they
are intended. The Cathem street deal.
er sells large number of small monk
eys to people who make pets of them.
Old maids and eccentric bachelors
have prediction for this class of
domestic toys. The monkey is, strange
to say, rather delicately Constituted,
and some Of the race, particularly the
varied monkey, with chestnut body,
yellow head, yellow cheeks, and black
limbs, and the green monkey, with
black face, are never seen in this coun'
try because they cannot live outside
of their own climate. The colored
monkeys seen In this country are not
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