Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1889-10-10
MONKEY GOLD MINERS.
THE ODD WORKMAN EMPLOYED 6Y
A SOUTHERN NINE OWNER.

Il
said to be very valuable aids In hunting
the precious stones. Many stories have
been told and written Of the usefulness
Of these clever. sharp eyed little animals.
Africa has been for centuries the strong
hold of the marvellous, and doubtless
most of those who have read anecdotes
about monkeys in the mines have known
what to think Of them. But / have q
story about mines and monkeys that Is
true. can be verified, and Is given with
out varnish. We shall not 60 beyond
our own country
Some time ago friend told me that
monkeys were employed in the gold Dig
gings OF South Carolina He wove for
me very interesting account of their
labors and of their value as laborers. MY
thoughts were busy the while with an
other animal-the fish. But since then
have come face to face with the man
who employs them, and have heard from
his own lips the story Of these strange
workers He is the proprietor of gold
mine in the interior of the Palmetto
state, and interested with him in dig.
ging the gold bearing quartz are num-
Der of eastern capitalists, who have
themselves witnessed the habits and in
genuity of their monkey workmen.
TWO DOZEN MONKEYS IN THE NINE.
Capt. E. Metz, who was born in Yankee
land, tells the story of the queer little
animals who work for him in the mines.
He Is typical New Highlander from Ver-
mont, and served in the Union army
during the rebellion and settled in the
south after the war. His mines are situ-
ated near Chesterfield, in South Carolina.
about twenty miles off the railroad. He
has been working them at profit for a
number of years, and new and improved
machinery is constantly making them
more valuable. As / saw him he was
on his way to Chicago to purchase an
other new mill to increase the facilities
for his gold digging operations.
II havetwenty-four monkeys" said he
employed about my mines. They do
the work of seven able bodied men, and
It Is no reflection upon the human labor
ers to say that they do class of work
man cannot do as well. In many in
stances they lend valuable aid where
man would be useless. They gather up
the small pieces Of quartz that would be
passed unnoticed by the workingmen
and pile them up in little heaps that can
be easily gathered up in a shovel and
thrown into the mill. They are exceed
ingly adept at catching the little particles
and their sharp eyes never escape the
very things that the human eye would
pass over.
"How did you first come to employ
them?'
when | went to digging gold had
two monkeys that were exceedingly In
teresting pets. They were constantly
following me about the mines, and one
day ! noticed that they were busily en-
gagged in gathering up little bits Of quartz
and arranging them in piles They
seemed TO enjoy the labor very much
and would 60 to the mines every morn
ing and work there during the day. II
did not take me long to catch on to their
value as laborers, for at that time our
wOrkingmen, who are mostly colored.
were unskilled and oftentimes almost
useless. Ny two pets had not worked
very long before decided to procure
more. So Immediately imported a
number, and now have two dozen work
ing daily in and about the mines. It is
exceedingly interesting to watch my two
pet monkeys teach the new ones how to
work, and stranger still to see how read
lily the new comers take to it.
DOING DETECTIVE WORK.
Strange to say, they control them
selves. They work as they please, some
times going down into the mine when
they have cleaned up all the debris on the
outside. They live and work together
without quarreling any more than men
do. They are quite methodical in their
habits and 90 to work and quit hke true
workingmen. They need some care and
have q colored man who superintends
them. He feeds them and looks well af-
ter their comfort. They have their meals
regularly and eat much the same charac-
ter Of food as human beings do. Corn
bread Is great favorite with them. They
clean up about the mines, follow the
wheelbarrows and carts used in mining
and pick up everything that falls of
along the way. No one who has not seei,
them can even imagine the wonderful
Intelligence they display and the neatness
and cleanliness with which they perform
their work. Nothing escapes them:
EperY little particle Is picked pp and cared
f0g. They 80 down into the mines and
come out as they please. They are friend
II with the wOrkmen employed fhera