The Opelousas courier., 1890-03-22
QUEER MINERS OF GOLn.
UTILIZING MONKEYS IN A soUTK
CAROLINA MINE.
Twei1ty-Four Apes That Do the Work
OF Seven Men-They are Method.
icaI i'm Their Methods,

lCa4 liz A11tAT MCG1lOUSs
In the diamond mines monkeys are
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 marvellous, and doubtless most Of
those who have read anecdotes about
monkeys in the mines have known what
to think of them. But I have a story
about mines and monkeys that is true,
can be verified, and is given without
varnish. We shall not go beyond our
oWn country.
Some time ago a friend told me that
monkeys were employed in the gold dig
gings of South Carolina. He wove for me
d very interesting account of their labors
and of their value as laborers. My
thoughts were busy the while with IN
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 a gold
mine in the interior of the Palmetto
State, and interested with him in dig
ging the gold-bearing quartz are a
aumber of Eastern capitalists, who have
themselves witnessed the ingenuity of
their monkey workmen.
Captain f. Metz, who was born in
Yankeeland, tells the story of the queer
little animals who work for him in the
mines. He is a typical New Highlander
from Vermont, and served in the Union
army, and settled in the South after the
war. His mines are situated near Ches-
terfeld, in South Carolina, about twenty
miles off the railroad. He has been
working them at a profit for a number of
years, and new and improved machinery
IS constantly making them more valua-
ole. As | saw him he was on his way
70 Chicago to purchase another new mill
TO increase his facilities for gold digging
operations.
81 have tw~enty-four monkeys" said
1e, employed about my mines. They
10 the work of seven able bodied men,
md it is nc reflection upon the human
aborers to say that they do a class of
work a man cannot do as we'll In many
instances they lend valuable aid where a
nan would be useless. They gather up
The small pieces of quartz that would be
passed unnoticed by the workingmen,
md pile them up in little heaps that can
De easily gathered up in a shovel and
shrowpinto the mill. They are exceed
y adepRott catching the little particles,
md their sharp eyes never escape the
very things that the human eye would
pass over"
Chow did you first come to employ
;hem2"
"When | went to digging gold / had
:To monkeys that were exceedingly in
;erestipg pets. They were constantly
following me about the mines, and n
lay 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 go to the mines every
morning and work there during the day.
It did not take me long to catch on to
their value as laborers, for at that time
)ur M~orkingmen, which are mostly col
ored, were unskilled, and oftentimes al
most useless. My two pets had not
worked very long before l decided to
procure more. So I Immediately inn
ported a number, and now have two
1ozen working daily in and about the
4 Lbs. 1t is exceedingly interesting to
watch my two pet monkeys teach the
lew ones how to work, and stranger still
10 see how readily the new corners take to
t..
"strange to say, they control them
selves. They work as they please, some
imes going down into the mines when
hey have cleaned up all the debris on
;lle outside. They live and work to-
gether without quarreling any more than
men do. They are quite methodieal in
heir habits and go to work and quit
ike true ~workingmen. They needCGme
ARE, aad I have a colored man
who superintends them. He feeds
them and looks we'll after their COM
.ort. They have their meals regularly
ind eat much the same character of food
Is human beings do. Corn bread is a
great ~favorite with them. They clean up
about the mines, follow the wheelbarrows
md carts used in mining, and pick up
everything that falls off along the way.
No one who has not seen them can eve
imagine the wonderful intelligence they
display and the Eeatness and cleanliness
with which they perform their work.
Nothing escapes them. Every little par
icle is picked up and cared for. They
90 down into the mines and come out as
hey please. They are friendly with the
2orkmen employed there, but are ex-
.eedingly shy WITT strangers. They are
most excellent detectives, and no work
nan can get on good enough terms with
hem to carry away a piece of quartz.
The men frequently attempt it just for
port, to see the monkeys get after them
md chatter until they put down what
syer they may have in their hands. It's
itrange to see how they will Disseminate
between the tools used by the working
men and a piece of quartz. They only
xeep their eve on and make a fuss about
what they must recognize as my property.
| would not part with them, because lido
lot know how their place could be sup
,lied. Certainly not with human be-
ngs."-Phaadelphia Times.
What Ambergris Is.
Ambergris, which is used as a basis for
nearly all standard perfumery, was first