The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-26

A SHOWER OF MONKEYS.
THEY POUR OUT OF THE TREES
OF AN INDIAN FOREST.

Bsets-surrounded by an Army OF
Threatening Simians.
Intn6ia, the paradise of MONKEYS, they
are held in high honor because of the
aia-v'ech their king, Hanoounan Sn the
days ofssid,." gave TO the.God Rama, when.
70 rescueshis wife, Sta, he.inveded Ceylol,
aanoonsn helping to bridge the stEsit.
Duty had4caken me 70 Dharmsaia, hill
station considerably west of Simla. On
the return journeyI turned of the main
road at KSRgra, an anoIsnt fortress, named
by Runieet Singh "the key of the PuHjsb,"
though utterly incapable OF standing a
weeks siege from civilized army.
The main road passes through dense
wood not 100 yards from this house, which
was more than half a uoiRe away IRON the
nearest part of town. From the road 8
narrow avenue had been cut among the
trees TO small clearance around the house,
Otherwise, it was buried IN the wood.
SaunteriHg under these trees suddenly
become conscious OF noises IN the branches
above me l looked up and about, but
though the branches stirred and the leaves
moved, j could see nothing. l was not,
however, long left in doubt or speculation.
a monkey, large MAKE, dropped from 3
branch to the ground at a distance of abous
thirty feet in front of me. As he reached
the ground he squatted onshis heels, rest
ing his hands on his knees and gazing tx
edly and Splemnly at me. His gravity up
set mine. Then near him another monkey
dropped, down; third and fourth fol
lowed. It began to. rain monkeys. In tens,
IN scores, in hundreds; old, middle aged
and Young; large and small; males and fe-
males-IRRny of the latter carrying babies,
some onltheir backs, others in their GrIns
kept .6copping from the trees around me.
was standing under e mighty giant Of
the faTest; and against its trunk, some five
feet in diameter, l set my baGs@. As the
Monkeys IN their hundreds sqpstted down
inSan irregular seIniciTcle around
SURROUNDED BY HUNDREDS
At some distance beyond, several young
monkey uTchins, which preferred play to
curiosity, kept suspendihg themselves from
thebranches in long living. chains, holding
on 70 each others hands or tails, and swing
ing themselves pendulum wise to and fro.
They were not the small puny creatures
generally seen in European mensSeTies
but the real genuine Indian Hanoouan, Of
which race the large and strong males
stand, when erect, fully four feet in height.
They were many such, among others Of
smallerssiZe, in the crowd around me.
It.had not taken three minutes to form
that senicircle of monkeys. They had
conedOEn as thick as a shower of hail
stones; but SO softly and gently had they
descended to the grass and leaf covered
ground that. scarcely any none had been
made. For a short time they sat motion
less and silent, staring hard at me; and a
baby monkey, having made a noise, was in
tautlEsnacked by its mother in a most
human fashion. They looked at me, hen
at each other, and again at NE; and then
they began 10 chatteT-drst one, then few
together, then many at once, finally all in
aschorus They talked, chartered jaobered,
discussed, argued, shouted and yelled; gcs-
ticalating meanwhile, making faces and
csrinniHG.
The laughter with which l had greeted
the first of my visitors died very sudden
death, fer my curiosity TO watch their Le-
haviori Qld not prevent my realizing tAe
fact that was not Ia a ycry safe position.
Here I was. unaruac1. nothing t-.t q Hight
riding whip IN my hand, surrounded by
hundreds Of monkeys, 20 which my white
face AMI. European dress were evidently
objccts'of as much aversion IS curiosity
Natives the7 did net mind, bat Europeans
they seemed to regard with the hatred due
todntruders
THE CIRCLE CROWS SMALLER
fully realized my danger, but continued
calm and collected and reasoned the posi-
ton out myself. Tee only chance of safe. :
vas to remain quietly against this friendly
tree, silently Observing the monkeys, care
ifrl 10 give no oGerse or pr1vcCatiou.
watchfal to give then. no aGTantsge over
me, till the return aAtae cgretal.oT OF some
other chance. CHE u nv aid. H7rd at
tempted 10 .gtTiGe them, CT 70 Brighten
them, or 10 break t4-cu-h .. eln, or 70 Cee
from them, I have not tAo slichtest doubt
that I should not now be writing this &c
count. Their enormous numbers would
have e1n5ol5ered' tLom to Eay art I
shoT1id have teen cutie helpless IL their
srasp-wolid, indeed, have beca poanos-
Upon by scores Of them, oveEDow biz
ten and torn to pisces. So, making viz
tue Of recessity, I kept up bold front,
watched, waIted'atsd prayed.
In one Of the intervals 81 silence the
great rongey that had first arrived and
that 1seoned 20 Zoe one OF the leaders, sud
denly hoppsd nearer 70 ue-two feet or 50.
BIS action vas. fuueSIiatsly Initiated By
all the monkeys fo<uins the f.o1s row Of
the semicFcls, while those belr-1 closed
up as befoZe, sad the semiarcle CONTRACTED
around ne by two feet in the ral1iUs More
chatUeTi1g and gesticulati1g followed,
more growing and gTinliDcy, with inter
walls of silence. They hSl great deal 70
say, and they all said IT, and / was about
NE, too; for they frequently pointed az ne
with their hands and sEaTlsd and gnashe4
their teeth at ma. Again they contracted
the semjcircle q before. And SO they kept
gradually coming DeaFer g1d nearer. and
growing more aud more excited
But my dehyerance YVES et hand IN the
midst Of one Of thetr most neisy discus
gions, they oze and eIl became g,rILenly
silent and PERFECTLY Sill They seemed %
be listening atteuSY9J. I liztaDs3, too,
but st first could czfrh sound euywhe-o,
the Stiffness Of death was FL a-0und, for
even the yUupg Monkeys had oeaseS fbsir
tricks What could have disturbed and
sileDoed the noisy tAroEz' On vbzt I'D
they now peoposs' &ezt from air. On
came the lo1d err Of EaOcksy-eyi1eatly
the warning cab o. q scout On outpost
duty. Then, nrst fsinflT from s1s< and
then gradually nssxer ana i0rSesz. ezne,
down tAe main rad through RE wDd, tte
welcome seEud Of tee olaH.sr Of kS<ssh
hoo1s at q swift waking 1soe. Tbn ft|rnS
which tlz4ar quicker eszs kAa deEs-sed BONG
before hnd beard r. They kspt thgiT
ground fer few mog1euts noOE@, bSS their
attention WAS nov e7f5suEy dtvKted 20
tween me sad tSs approaching hOrse
Again, snf Deare-, TIE scouts ely sotndsd
thsouRh uke uTcod- Tb4rs 5rss al tnnzreli-
ate s1au.Iede One Abd al the Ensakgys