Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-05
THE ANIMAL WORLD,
Lions and Tigers Get on a Glorious
Spree From Indulging in a
Little Sprig of Catnip.
MONKEYS AND TIE PH0N0GRAPH.
A Snerm Whale Follows O Steamer ever
q Thousand Miles and Then Gives
it up in Disgust.
MONKEYS AND TIE PHONOGRAPH.
FOXES THAT DO NOT FEAR MEN.
The Turks wsy Of Inducing Donkey to Abandon Ris
Musical hchnAtionk

Keeper Byrne, of the Philadelphia Zoolog-
ical Gardens, to Record reporter. ut makes
them drunk just as surely as whisky will
make a human being drunk. If you are
inclined to doubt this statement get a little
catnip and try it on the household pussy.
Sne will show you an amusing time.
The other DAY the lions and the tigers went
On big drunk at the expense of Mr.. Byrne,
and they certainly had high Old time.
Their into1icant did not consist OF the red,
red wine; neither was it the foamy lager.
1t was simply catnip, and the noble beasts
took it straight.
Before start the pets on their spree" I"
said Mr. Byrne, "Pm going to give them
a little dose of castor oil. They'll make
all sorts of wry faces if they take it, and
maybe they won't take it at all. They're
Just like children when it comes to castor
oil
The head keeper cut of three or four
Jumps of meat about the size of walnuts.
On each piece he poured few drops Of
castor oil and then fired a couple of pieces
into each cage. 1t was almost feeding time
and the animals were ravenously hungry.
Big Dan, he of the shaggy name and
fierce demeanor, gulped down his bit of
meat and a moment later was the most dis
gusted looking lion in the world. He made
a wry face Of the most comical description,
gagged two or three times and then, when
he realized how completely he had been
fooled, he let out d roar that made the build
ing shake. The others acted in the same
manner and then sat down in detected atti-
tudes in different corners Of the cages.
"Now let's go on a drunk, nv pets"
said Mr.. Byrhe, standing close to the cage
and taking from his pocket package of
dried catnip. Instantly every lion and
tiger in sight braced up and took fresh
hold of lite. They made for the catnip
much after the fashion of an old-timer at
tacking his matutinal cocktail, and alter
eating a little, began to roll about in it.
while satisfied expression stole over each
face.
Big "Dan" and his helpmeet seemed to
have the most fun. For little while they
rolled about the floor of the cages for all the
world like little puppies at play, and then
they grew somewhat boisterous. Good
natured growls filled the air, until "Dan"
In the eIurberance of his spirits rose up and
hit his better half most unchivalrous
blow with his mighty paw. But this did
not seem to interrupt the harmony of the
occasion in the least, for the lioness proved
to be one of the amiable kind for whom
there is not cross word or a blow in a
whole bale of catnip. She did not resent
the cruel slap, but kept right on having
plenty of fun. A game OF leap-frog fol-
lowed the rolling about and it was the
most exciting episode OF the entire spree.
Big Dan" did most of the leaping and
-, l. elol III
and fly through the air high over his mate
was sight to put an expert acrobat to the
blush.
But the tigers, the unamiable brutes,
didn't appear to have a bit of fun. No
sooner had the catnip been thrown into their
cages than they settled down to have a
clawing and snarling match. In about two
minutes the cages looked like sections of
Donnybrook Fair. The beasts clawed aud
yelled at one another, but, like most fights
of the kind, no blood was spilled Mr..
Byrne said it was only a way they had of
showing how they loved one another, and
the noise was all in fun.
The chances are no headache followed the
catnip orgie, for when feeding time arrived
a little time later every beast showed up
with his appetite all polished and oiled and
in splendid running order.
CAN MONKEYS TALK?-The linguistic
ability of monkeys, writes Rene Bache, was
the subject the other day Of what was prob
ably the funniest scientific experiment ever
conducted by the Smithsonian Institution.
Prof. Garner, one of the honorary curators,
had charge OF the test. The conversational
power of monkeys has for years been his
special hobby, and it occurred to him that
1t would be a good idea to take down some
NJ their remarks hv means Of tba
ophone. Accordingly he procured a port
able instrument and secured the cooperation
OF the Secretary OF the Smithsonian and of
about dozen other men Of science attached
10 that learned establishment in the carrv-
ing out of this remarkable trial. 1t was a
great sight to behold the group of eminent
doctors and professors gathered in front OF
the monkey cage at the Zoo in the rear of
the Smithsonian building, seriously waiting
results, while Prof. Garner ground away at
the hand graphophone with its crank at
taehmeut and the keeper of the animals
poked the monkeys up with a stick to make
them talk.
Que monkey was tame and the other one
Wild The wild one could not be induced
by the most vigorous pokiug to make any
remarks worth mentioning. An occasional
scream OF rage was all that could be ELECTED
from him. The tame monkey did nothing
but chatter and gibber most unintelliqlhIv
rs it seemed to the rest OF the audience: but
Prof. Garner was inclined to think that this
was really conversation worth taking down
and SO he ground away vigorously at his in
strument, using up hal:-a-dozen cylinders in
obtaining the records he desired. A big tin
horn attached TO the graphophone was in
serted through the door of the monkey cage
during the performance.
PRO-. Garner was very far from imagining
that he would be able to understand this
monkey talk, but his notion was to record
the remarks OF one monkey and grind them
out through the horn for the benefit of the
other monkey, so as to observe what sort of
responses the second would make. By COM
pairing the original observations and the re-
Plies, he hoped to get some lew cIews that
would eventually enable him to translate
the monkey language. Unfortunately, the
wilG monkey would only scream angrily,
and thus the experiment was in a measure a
failure, though the Professor is convinced
that he has obtained on his cylinders some
really useful simisn observations, il be |
could only tell what they were about This |
is, in fact, the only difficulty remaining.
and he does not despair.
A PLUCKT WHALE.-Dr. Manninrton |
Cafyn writes from Adelaide to the Pail Nall |
lPudget as follows: As tar as can learn 1T |
is the rarest thing for whale not to fear a |
5 teauer. On the morning of July IL in |
latitude - s., longitude 78 F., Captain
r. n. R., OF the steamship Port
4 kGelaide, was taking his sight when he
Iqticed large sperm whale alongside. 40
rl4se that his spouting wetted the deck.
Tn hle creature had evidently lost his "schooI,"
Andi mistaken us for one OF his own species.
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