The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-12-26
CHIKO'S BONNY BRIDE
Johanna" a Brunettee Gorilla,
Arrives from Lisbon.
She Is a CapriciOus Girl of Ten and Ter
rorized the Entire Ship During Her
Passage to New York.

wouldn't be much safety in Central Park.
nor anywhere else hereabouts in fact. The
new gorilla in town is Johanna She ar
| rived yesterday, after some thrilling eX-
| perences-thrilling to those who were on
| the ship with her, thrilling and very har-
| rowing, but all quite jolly to Johanna. She
| has come all the way from Lisbon to be-
| come the wife of Chko.
shes a terror. Chiko'n have to toe the
| mark now" say those who have become
acquainted with Johanna, even for just a
short time.
Johanna came to town on the big steamer
Dona Maria. She was all very meek and
| kittenish enough when a Recorder reporter
| called on her aboard ship yesterday after
| noon. just few minutes after the Dona
| Maria mad made her dock at the south CEN
| trail pier in Atlantic dock, Brooklyn. She
| smiled, or. smirked, rather, for Johanna
| hasn't been in polite society enough yet to
| know how to smile in the pretty way that
| she will after she has been in Central Park
| few weeks. and has had all those pretty
| girls looking at her and saying queer things
about her, just all pretty girls will gos-
| sip sometimeS-perhapS because they're jeal-
ous who knows? But Johanna has a much
| finer face than that of Chiko and he can't
| help being proud of her and falling in love
as soon as he sets eyes on her. Indeed Jo-
hanna is so pretty-that is, for gorilla
| that this marriage is likely to turn out far
more happily than those Of a similar kind
among human folk, where other people have
done all of the match making, and the plan
| ming, and the wooing, and all that before
| the two ever see another.
Johanna first met polite society in the
geological Gardens of lisbon. 1t was not
| OF her own accord for the brunette beauty.
that's what she's regarded among her
kind-has always been bit Of a coquette.
Where She had things her own NV Way with ali
| the man gorillaS. But a bold Portuguese
traveller and hunter came across her one
day-She was quite young then, for she be-
| gan her career as a coquette at very
| tender age-and thought that she would be
fortune to him in herself. So he cap
tured her with the aid of dozen COM
panionS, and took her back with him TO
| Lisbon, where she was installed in state in
| the Geological Gardens. the envy Of all the
chimpanZeeS there.
Johanna is only in her tenth year now.
Lisbon that the Barnum IL Bailey people
got after her Johanna was becoming such
a celebrity that the Greatest Show on Earth
hanna was done up securely in great cage
and trundled aboard the bona Maria on
Noy: q last: She did not know what to
thing in the way of comment, wrapping
herself up into a round ball in her red and
blue and gray blanket to await develop
ments. Two days afterward the Dona Ma
ria sailed. Then Johanna seemed to realize
what was happening and she threw off her
blanket in great rage. When her keeper
came near and jabbered at her in Portu-
guese she was beside herself, and stretched
her long, bony hands out through the graf
ingS and made up awful faces at him and
gave him many invitations to come within
reach. But that black-visaged keeper knew
Johanna too well He knew that If she got
would twist him and wiring him and tear
him all to pieces if she had room enough.
So the keeper began to lie low till johanna
could her tantrumS.
FEMININE DECEPTION.
The smug-faced Johanna soon understood
him. She saw that she must play a deeper
game So instead of scolding and fretting
and making a fool of herself, she began to
smile and Whitney and say nice, soft things
to that dark-eyed keeper every time he
came around. She is such little diplomat
that the keeper was thrown off his guard
completely. One day he gave her just the
tip of his finger, and she kissed IT and
fondled 1t so prettily that he was sure she
had decided to be a good girl again. That
was on the evening of Dec. .. And all the
people on the DOna Maria-there were nine
teen cabin passengers and lO4 Storage; be-
sides the large crew-went to bed with light
hearts, for they knew that Johanna would
be a very sociable companion passenger
after that.
But Johanna didn't go to sleep feeling that
way. She knew, full well, by that time,
that she was being taken away far away
| from all the scenes OF neT lIIufHlUS III LIS
bon, and she was determined to be free. So
she kept awake all that night working at
her cage. 1t was big enough and strong
enough to keep a couple of lions or tigers
in all right; but Johanna could twist any
tigers tail, and those great lion bars bent
like strips of wire in her powerful hands,
when she chose to exert her strength. 1t did
not take her long to snap off two of these
thick bars, half an inch In diameter or
more; but then there was another great
obstacle. The cage had been wound around
Wi a dense network of chains, some of the
strongest chains to be found aboard the
Dona Maria They were harder than the
d 4LIS it. o. '"e cage -
Now for a lark" fairly squealed Johanna
as the morning of Dec. came and she
found herself free.
That Johanna said this is vouched for by
her keeper, who was awakened by her
loud cries of triumph. That was about
O'Clock, and the keeper had barely leaped
out of bed just the other side of the par
tition, when cry of terror ran through the
Dona Maria.
Look out! Look out, The gorilla has es-
capped" was caught up from mouth to
No sooner had the cry run over the ship
than Johanna herself was on deck. Her
cage was just down under the matches aft,
and she bobbed up as If she thought 1t
huge joke. All the crew were on deck, too,
by that time, and 50 were most Of the pas
seEgerS. There Was a wild scampering 10
get out of the way But Johanna just
stood up there on the roof OF the COM
Chuckled. and when the keeper tripped out
in a tinid way to see whether she really
meant il not, she gave one wild scream
of merriment and then a huge growl of
rage and rushed at him.
Help! Hclp!' he yelled. and score Of
the sailors ran forward brandishing clubs
and all sorts Of missiles and weapons of
defense and Offerse.
Johanna was awed for the moment by the
fierce array and retreated. So did the
keeper, and very fast, too. Johanna didn't
know one thing, however and that proba-
those people, for had she been aware that
they had been instructed at great length
not to hurt her or TO do her any damage at
all, Johanna would have rushed in and
done all the harm she could, she was 50
ar CRY.
1t was furious battle Of two hours be-
fore Johanna was overcome 1t was fought
on the deck aft, on the main deck forward,
on the bridge over the top of the captain's
cabin, in and out of the kitchen and mess
room, almost overheard. says Captain Jose
MarreiroS, who took charge in persOn of
the army against which Johanna was fight
ing. Finally the $50 men with clubs got
johanna surrounded. 1t was on top of the
complimentary again. Her keeper think
ing that the battle had been won an
Pc ached and addressed Johanna with gem
tie speech. He did not know Johanna, how
ever. Although he had big club in his
hand, she sprang upon him, and there was
a desperate struggle for about a quartera
or second, during which the keeDer had
the forefinger of his left hand bitten clean
OF johanna perched in triumph on ton
OF the kce per for another second AMI
one else who wanted to try conclusions
with her. The ships boy-Quite a big hoy-
too. with his six feet Of height or mere
made iunge at her with his club: but 10