The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1893-03-02
STORIES OF CHIMPANZEES.
BY VI. JACOLLIOT.

| IlleIlSeut superiority MARKING MS
features. the breath of his arms
which are better proportioned to the
size Of his body than in the other apes
the size and perfection of his thumb.
the roundne5s Of his thighs, the hu'
man form of his feet and the almost
upright bearing resulting from it, the
nature of the sounds, which he utters
in certain cases-in fact, everything
unites to distinguish the chimpanzee
from other apes, and to set him near to
man.
Linnaeus in his Natural System"
made him species of the genus home
under the denomination OF home sil-
vestries the man OF the woods.
The black chimpanzee is especially
interesting. This ape has the fore
head rounded, but concealed by the
arches of the extremely developed eye
brows. The face is brown and bare
with the exception Of the cheeks,
which have a few hairs arranged in
the manner of whiskers; his eyes are
small and full Of expression; his nose
is flat and his mouth broad He
reaches q height of five or six feet,
and when he is supported by a cane
he can walk upright for several mo
ments His body is covered with coarse
hairs, usually black, more numerous
on the back.
When young, chimpanzees are sus-
ceptible Of a widely varied education:
| they learn to sit up at table as cor
rectly as civilized men; they eat every
thing, especially sweets, they can be
accustomed to the Use of alcoholic
liquors.
They use the knife. the fork and the
| spoon to cut and eat what is served to
them. They receive with politenes5
| people who come to VISIT them. and re
man to keep them company and to
take leave Of them.
The chimpanzee IS fond Of brilliant
coIors, and be arises at the approach
OF an elegantly dressed lady He
takes pleasure in looking out Of the
window; the passing OF horses and
carriages astonishes him and gives
him great pleasure.
This candidate for humanity has a
relatively gentle expression in his
look; he IS graceful and polished in
his manners. There exists between
| the faculties Of the chimpanzee and
those OF the orangoutang the same DIFF
ference as between the external char
acterlstics of these two animals.
Capt Paine described the manner
of chimpanzee which had been cap
tured by a merchat vessel on the banks
OF the river Gambia and intrusted to
hlm TO be taken to London in 1881:
''N hen the animal came on board
he shook hands with several of the
sailors but refused this mark Of con
! iidence even with anger to several
others without any apparent reason.
Soon, however, he became familiar
with the whole crew, with the excep-
ton of a small cabin boy. with whom
he never became on friendly terms
Nv hen the sailors table was set on
| deck he was always on the watch, max
ing a tour Of the table and embracing
each guest with cries: then he would
SIT down among them to share the
food. lie sometimes expressed his
anger by sort Of barking, which re
sembled that Of the dog. At other
times he cried like a disappointed
child and scratched himself violently.
Nv hen tld-bit was given to him.
| especially something sweet, he eX-
pressed his satisfaction by a sound
IKE 'h-O-o-n.' The variety OF tones
IN his language, did not appear to be
wide. In those warm latitudes he was
gay and active, but languor fell upon
nm as soon as we left the torrid zone.
As we approached our own shores he
manifested a desire to wrap himself
III warm covering.
He was not insensible to vanity:
he exhibited sort Of self love in GOV
ering himself with human clothing.
de was seen several times walking
proudly on deck with a cooked hat on
| his head"
The Museum OF Natural History at
Paris thirty years ago possessed a
| chlmpanzee which showed great in
telLSence. Once when he had been
put IN penitence for some fault he ex-
penenced the feeling common to all
living creatures which have been shut
up-a desire to recover liberty. He
threw into this enterprise a train Of
reasoning remarkable for connection
and expedient. In the first place he
| fixed his eyes on the door OF the room
III which he had been confined. But
this door was locked with a KEY and
the key was hung on nail. He did
not allow himielf to be discouraged
by this obstruction. Rising on his
tip toes he tried to reach the KEY. but
he was a small ape and the key was
too high for the hand of animal to
obtain it. After many useless attempts
IN the course Of which he showed as
much perseverance as sagacity. he re
ailzed that the key was placed at such
a distance from his fingers that the
extremity Of his hand and the object
could never be brought together: con
sequently he crawled on a chair. reach
ed one hand up and unlocked the key
from the nail. This accomplished, he
descended, then adroitly introduced
the key into the keyhole and opened
the door.
Let us cite still another TACT which
proves to what a degree OF develop
ment the intelligence of this ape may
attain: Three or four children were
amusing themselves ono day on a
square IN Algiers Watching some apes
dancing TO the sound OF drum. ad-
miring especially the one who played
admirably upon the instrument, and
al the same time served as a guard to
poor blind man. his master, whom
he led with skill and attention such as
could not have been expected from
man charged with this duty. This
interesting animal made from time to
time a tour Of the company. present
ing the blind man to each one of the
spectators, and at the same time hold
ing out his drum to receive the coins.
Bits of money and fruit were rained
upon the drum. The ape then made