Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-23
Animal Intelligence.

Various writers have spoken of TIE
behavior of monkeys to their ailing AMI
dead companions, MI. Darwin gives
instances of the grief of female
monkeys for the death of their
kept by Brehm, in North Africa, died
from grief consequent on the death of
their young. An instance is narrated
in which a female monkey having been
shot, the leader of the troop CAM to the
door of the tent and mourned for the
body, after indulging in a series of
threatening gestures. The body was
given him, and thereafter he retreated,
bearing it away, with every expression
of sorrow, in his arms. The Gibbons
are said to attend carefully to injured
companions, but to take no notice of
dead friends. A monkey has also been
known to extend a cord to another
which had fallen overheard from a YES
sci. I observed that when n of their
dead companions was shown to the re-
naming occupants of my cage, they
did not appear to be frightened, but
seemed to regard the dead body with
indifference and to exhibit very little
curiosity on seeing the still form Of
their companion. When, however, one
of the family was ailing the other paid
it a great amount of attention, not al
ways, so far as l could see, of a friendly
or sympathetic nature. When Paddy,
the capuchin, was ill, and in fact just
before his demise, his friends appeared
to me to endeavor to raise him from the
recumbent posture in which he lay.
Whether this was done in anxiety for the
sufferer or from mere curiosity l am
unable to say. Perhaps both ideas ami
mated the survivors in their atten-
tions to their sick friend. On one occa-
sion I observed in Cetchy, the sooty
mangabey, q singular example of what
I conclude may ligitimateIy be called
of the term. Seeing his anxiety to OBJ.
tain a small piece Of apple which I held
in my hand, I resolved to test his pow
ers of reason and of discrimination in
the following way: l showed him the
piece of apple, and as he tried to grasp
it I allowed it to slip down the sleeve Of
my coat, after the familiar fashion Of
the childish conjuring trick. Cetchy
viewed the disappearance of the apple
with surprise, and infinitely examined
my hand-unclosing my fingers to see
if l had concealed it therein. Allowing
the morsel to again COM into view, but
being careful to avoid showing its place
of concealment, I again passed it up my
sleeve. Cetchy again narrowly exam
.ined my hand, turning it over SO as to
see the back of my hand. but of course
without success. The peculiar dissatis-
fed grunt with which Cetchy greeted
his want of success, was both character
istic and amusing. Ithen repeated the
operation for the third time, when
Cetchy at once, and without examining
my hand again, passed his hand into my
sleeve, and extracted from its hiding
place the coveted morsel, which, 1 may
add, was entirely concealed from the
monkeys view. As time passed, it is
important to note that Cetchy did not
trouble himself to investigate the hands
in search of the missing apple. Repeti-
ton of the trick acquainted him with it
rationale, and his hand went directly to
the sleeve for the coveted morsel. In
this Ease we may, 1 think, safely con
clude that the hiding-place of the NOR
sell was first detected simply by an ex
ercise of that common and tacit treason
through which we ourselves gain s
knowledge Of the unknown. In the
human subject, it is almost needless tc
add, such treason may be exercised
as unconsciously as, no doubt it was
put in force by the mangabey.-Gem1e
mans Magazine.