Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-10-30
MONKEY TALK.
A Scientists Story of Wonderful
Conversation.

49, ~ sAo4O4As
Professor r. L. Garner has long
studied the apes and monkeys in the
geological gardens and made most of his
observations in Chicago, Cincinnati,
New York and Washington. In the lat.
ter city, in company with DR.. Frank
Baker, of the National "Zoo,n he separ-
ated two monkeys which had been Gagged
together, and placed them in different
rooms. Then he arranged n phonograph
in front of one monkey, which recorded
ats chattering. This was reeled off to
the other monkey, which gave evidence
OF the greatest surprise and perplexity.
In Chicago, at the geological department
OF Lincoln Park, splendid records were
! made upon the photograph, which Prof.
Garner studied with diligence until he
had mastered a few of the sounds. He
then proposed to try the experiment,
which he thus describes:
Having described to some friends
who were with me the word twould use,
l stood for awhile with my side turned
to the cage containing capuchin monkey
(cebus capucinus). l uttered the word
or sound which had translated milk
My first effort caught his ear aud caused
him to turn and look at me. On repeat
ing it about three or four times he an
swered me very distinctly with the same
word l had used, and then turned to
small pan kept in the cage for him to
drink from. repeated the word again,
and he placed the pan near the front of
the cage and came quite up to the bars
and uttered the word. l had not shown
him any milk or anything of the kind.
But the man in charge then brought me
some milk, which I gave to the monkey,
and he drank it with great zest, then
looked at me, held up the pan and re-
peated the sound three or four times.
II gave him more milk and thus con-
tinued till was quite sure he used the
same sound each time he wanted milk.
next described to the friends who were
with nc word which was very hard to
render we'll, but translated it to cat
now held banana in front of the cage
and he at once gave the word had de-
scribed. Repeated tests showed to me
that he used the same word for apple,
carrot, bread and banana, hence I con-
Guided that it meant food or hunger
as also ito eat"
Prof. Garner concludes that the capu-
chin monkey is the caucasian of the
monkey race" for the chimpanzec and
other species have less variety in their
sounds. Some of Prof. Gamers conclu-
sions are: "Ihe silnian tongue has about
eight or nine sounds, which may be
changed by meditation into three or
four times that number. They seem to
be half way between whistle and pure
vocal sound and have range of four oc-
taves and all chord with F sharp on the
piano. Each race or kind has its own
peculiar tongue, slightly shaded into
dialects, and the radical or cardinal
sounds do not have the same meaning in
all tongues. When Gagged together one
monkey will learn to understand the
Language of another kind, but does not
try to speak it. His replies are in his
own vernacular Simians reason from
cause to effect and their reasoning differs
from that of man in degree but not in
kind" and, finally, "the state of their
language seems to correspond with their
power to think and to express their
Thoughts"