The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-12-06
MONKEYS FIGHT q DUEL.
Both OF the Sim'anS Found Dcnd on tho
&is!I Of IIopnr


Both OF tile SInr'ans Found Dend on tho
Eir!d OF I!ouor.
II duel recently took place in a travel
ing circus temporarily stationed in
village outside Paris and very curious
were tho consequences. Two aero
bats says dispatch to the London
Ja!iy Telegraph, 'quarrcled. and re-
solved to fight Il duel. Tho place chosen
was tho rlng-aftcr tho public perform
ancc, OF coursc-the conditions being
two shots at twenty-five PAGES. AS
usual, mother OF tho com batants was
hurt. aud their wounded honors being
satisfied tho incident terminated. The
duelists and their seconds overlooked
tho presence Of two members Of their
company, who were quietly munching
nuts ina corner. These were two trained
moni'eys, who had been taught to dc
around the ring dressed up as soldiers,
ana 10 ire pistols en- route. The mon
keys saw the performance of their
masters, and when tho way was clear
tN"Y resolved to initiate it. Gravcly
loadng their pistols they faced each
/ othcr-not AZ twCutv-ive PAGES but ut
iive-and fired. They both fell dead,
! one with It's head nearly blown oil and
/ the other shot III the breast. At tho
( sound OF tao SLOTS the master OF tho
/ circus rr. "a fra ana found thc bodies OF
/ the initiative dnolists in the rinr with
! the still 9mokin; pistols lying by
them
Commenting on this interesting item,
the London Saturday Review observes:
I'm gloomy week two monkeys have
considerably sacrificed themselves on
the altar o- ra city. There is somewhat
wildly laushablc, according to IL French
critic i'll whatever concerns death
Nhcn we have heard what mirth tho
monkeys made, it must be deemed ap-
propriatc-if, indeed, the Story is not
an unwcrtby dispersion on the intelli-
gencc of tho animals. According to
correspondent two acrobats in tho cir
Gus in Paris had dispute, followed by
an affair OF honor. The distance was
the nice gcntlomanly one of twenty-five
PAGES at which even Il good pistol shot
/ may miss an opponent with weapon in
his hands At all events whether good
shots or not. the combatants did miss.
l'crhaps they wore rs nervous as tho
timid duolist whom Gay dc Maupassant
has described twice, once in volume
Of sketches and once in Il novel, Bel
Ami.
Nov among tho tcmoins Of this af-
fair were two apes. Tho creature is
initiative and ingenious. but never has
monkey Carried imitation and ingenuity
further than tho Paris monl.eys. Tho
famed arc OF The cannon story had no
compurgatc.s. They only made ono
difference in tho arrangements witch
they had observed to h,. so p.cturrsouc.
SO safe, and TO honor So consoIur,
They found pistols and cartridges: they
ioaaed they STOOD up To cach other ao
hve-uot twenty-five yard, distance.
AMI they blew cach other TO pieces. OF
all mon oys concerning whom history
speaks, these alone arc dead on tho fold
OF honor How tho details nave boon
discovered rs tho monkeys chose no
seconds, does not appear Nor is it
known whether they had been long on
iii terms We seek for the lady of
this quarrel in vain.
"l'crhaps that is tho wiser theory
which denies that tho apes had any hos
tile mot yes at all. They thought, from
what they had observed Of tho ducllo.
that 1T WAS an exercise no less friendly
and harmless than gcntlcmanly. In his
version OF The Sleeping beauty Per-
rault makes the Bcauty' boy fence
with monkey. This is, perhaps, tho
nearest to Il duel with civilized wcanons
that any simian creature over came be-
fore the monkeys of the Daily Tclc-
graph. Tho balloon is a hcllgcrentani-
NAL with military discipline, and he is
said to throw stones and do many other
startling tricks Of war Eat aducl with
pistols and a douhly fatal duel. is n
! nix too many for him Possibly tho
monkeys fought on Japanese principles,
wherein it IS dishonorablc for either
comhatant torcturn alive. Butw havc
no evidence about the most interesting
points as who gave the word to fire.
whether ii was not barrier duel, and
so forth. We only have tho sad plain
facts to speak for themselves i'll tho
Daily Telegraph"