The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-10-11
Monkey Life in India.
Lying among Men and Playing with the
Children.
uondon telegraph


In India where the monkeys live among
men, and are the playmates Of their children,
the Hindoos have grown fond of them, and the
four-handed folk participate in all their simple
household rites. In the early morning, when
the peasant goes out to yoke his oxen, and the
crow wakes up and the dog stretches himself
and shakes off the dust in which he has slept
all night, and the old monkey creeps down the
peepul tree, only half awake, and yawns and
looks about him, puts straw in his mouth,
and scratches himself contemplatively. Then
one by one the whole family como slipping
down the tree trunk, and they all yawn and
look about and scratch. But they are sleepy
and peevish and the youngsters get cuffed for
nothing and begin to think life dull. Yet the
toilet has to be performed, and, whether they
like it or not, the young ones are sternly
pulled up one by one, to their mother TO un-
dergo the process The scene, though repeated
exactly every morning, loses nothing OF its de-
rghtful comicality, and the monkey brats
scam 10 be in the iokeof "taking in mamms."
But mamma was young herself not so very
long ago, and treats each ludicrous
affectation OF suffering with profoun-
est unconcern, and, as she dismisses
one "cleaned" youngster with a cuff, retches
out her hand for the next ones tail or leg in
the most business like and serens manner pos
sbe The youngsters know their turn quite
we'll. As each feels the moment arrive IL
throws itself on its stomach as il overN helmed
with apprehension, the others meanwhile sLi-
fling their satisfaction at the way 80 and-so Is
doing it," and the instant the maternal paw Is
extended to grasp the tail, the subject oil the
next experiment utters piercing shrek, and
throwing its arms forward in the dust, allows
itself to be dragged along limp and helpless
carcass, winking all the time, no doubt at It's
brothers and sisters at the way 1t is imposing
no nonsense, and turning the child right side
up proceeds to put it to rights, takes the KINKS
out of its tail, and the knots out OF its fur,
pokes its fingers into its ears and looks at eacn
of his toes, the irrepressible brat all thu time
wearing on his face au absurd expression OF
hopeless and incurable grief, those who have
been already cleansed looking on with delight
at the screaming farce aad those who are wait
ing wearing becoming aspect OF enormous
gravity. The old lady, however, has her joke
TOO. which is to cuff each youugster before. she
lets il 90, and nimble as her offspring gener-
allv are. she manages, to her credit be it said.
"to fetch them one on the ears before tnoy-
are out of reach. The father, meanwhile, sits
prayeIy with his back to all these domestic
matters, waiting for breakfast. Presently the
mats before the hut doors are pushed down,
and women with brass vessels in their hands
come out, and when they scour the pots and
pans with dust, exchange between songs Tue
compliments of the morning. The monkeys
by this time have come closer to the prepara-
tions for food, and sit solemnly household oy
household. watching every movement Hin
docs do not hurry themselves in anything they
do. but the monkey has Pleuty of patience, and
in the end. when the crowd has stolen little
and the dog has bad its morsel, and the chill
dreu are ali satisfied, the fragments OF the
meals are thrown out on the ground for the
"bhunder ogue," the monkey people, and 1t is
soon discussed, the mother feeding the baby
before she herself eats