The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-10-19
Monkeys in India.

In India, where the monkeys live
among men. and are the playmates of
their children, the Hindoos have grown
so fond of them that the four-handed folk
participate in all their simple household
rites. In the early morning, when the
peasant goes out to yoke his pillow, and
the crow wakes up, and the dog stretches
himself and shakes off the dust in which
he has slept all night, the old monkey
creeps down from the peepul-treet, only
half awake, and yawns and looks about
him, puts a straw in his mouth, and
scratches himself contemplatively.
Then me by one the whole family
they all yawn andlook 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 belperformed, and whether
they like itor not the young ones are
sternly pulled up n by one to their
mother to undergo the process. The
scene, though regularly repeated every
morning, loses nothing of It's delightful
comicality, and the monkey brats never
tire Of the joke of taking in mamma"
But mamma was young her self not SO
very long ago. and treats each ludicrous
affectation of suffering with profeundest
~unconcern, and as she dismisses one
"cleaneu" youngster with q cuff, stretches
out herhandfor the nextsone's tail or leg
in the most business-like. and serious
manner possiblea The youngsters know
their turns quite we'll, and as each one
sees the moment. arriving it throws itself
on its stomaehs eas if .oYeryhelmed with
apprehension, the others meanwhile
sitting their laughter at the capital way
so-an8-solis doing it, and the instapt the
maternal paw is extended to giaspits
tail the subject of the next experiment
utters II dolorous vail, and throwing its
arms toward in the dust, allows itself to,
be - along a limp and helpless
car Z, y1nking all the time, no doubt,
is brothers and sisters, at the way it
Imposing on the old lady.
But the old lady will stand nonon-
sense, and turning theichild 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 each Gifts toes, the inexprcssible
brat all the time wearing on its face an
sabsurd-expressien of hopeless and incur
able grief. Those who have been already
cleaned look on with delight at the
screaming farce, while those who are
waiting wear becoming aspect
of enormous gravity. The old
lady, however, has her joke
too, which is to cuff every youngster be-
fore she lets GO; and nimble as her off
spring are, she generally, to her credit be
it said, manages to give each of them a
box on the ears before it is out of reach.
The father, meanwhile, sits gravely with
his back to all these domestic matters,
waiting for breakfast =
The monkeys by this time have come
closer to the preparations for food, and
sit solenlnly, household by household,
watching every moment. Hindoos do.
not hurry themselves in anything they
do, but the monkey has lots of time to
spare and plenty Of patience, and in the
end, after the crow has stolen a little,
and the dog has had its morsel, and the
are:all satisfied, the poor frag-
ments of the meal are thrown, out on the
ground for the "bhunderlogue" 1.-THE
monkey people,, and it is soon discussed,
the mother feeding the baby before she
eats herself.
When every house has thus in turn
been visited, and no chance of further
"out-door relief remains, the monkeys
go off to the well. The women are all
here again, drawing the water for the
day, and the monkeys sit and wait, the
old ones in front, sententious and serious,
and the youngsters rolling about in the
dust behind them, till at last some girl
sees the creatures waiting, and Sin the
name OF Ram" spills a lotahfull of water
in a hollow of the ground, and tn. mon
keys come round 1t in a circle, and
stoop down and drink, with their tails all
curled up .,,.ar their backs like notes of
interroa.S There is no contention or
jostling.J forward child gets a box on
the ear perhaps, but each one, as it has
satisfied its thirst, steps quietly out of the
circle, and wipes its mouth. The day
thus fairly commenced, they go off to see
what luck may bring them. I
The grain dealers shop tempts them to
%loiter, but the experience of previous at
tempts makes theft hopeless; for the
bupaya, with all his years, isyery nimble
on his legs, an an astonishing good shot
with a pipkin. So the monkeys merely
make their salaams to him, and pass on
to the fields. If the corn is ripe, they
can soon eat enough for the day but if
not, they go wandering about picking up
morsels, here an insect and there q berry,
till the. sun gets too hot and then they
creep up into the dark shade or the
mango tope, and snooze through the af-
ternoon. In the evening they are back
in the village again to share in its COM
forts and entertainment. ? 1gaf 3
They assist at the ~conyocation Of the
elders and the refnps~of the children,
lookingo on when the faquif comes up tocol-
lect his little dues of salt and corn and
oil, and from him in their turn exacting
a pious toll. Then listen gravely to the
village musician till they get sleepy, and
then one by one they Chamber up into
the peepul.-HQrper's Weekly.