The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1893-02-02
A MONKEYS TRICKS
How He Learned to Light and Extin-
Guish Matches.


euish Matches.
l never was very partial to monkeys.
but when [ was at Sierra Leone some
years back Mandingo native of the in
terior) induced me. by sheer persistence,
to purchase one which he wished to dis
pose of | didn't have much use for the
little fellow after had bought him, but [
used to see that his wants were properly
attended to, and even q monkey, | sup
pose, has some sense of gratitude, The
Colonel" for SO | had named him, COM
menced to make friendly overtures to me
which l found it hard to resist.
His first act in that line was to offer me
banana which he had not eaten, having
at the same time such wisttul express
sion on his face that | accepted il and
made some pretense at eating it, too,
The Colonel was evidently delighted,
grinning all over his face and chattering
veeiterously, and ere long made bold to
jump from his perch on to my shoulder
From that time forth l began to TAX
more interest in him and taught him all
manner of tricks. AS the initiative fac
ulty is strong IN monkeys, it was no very
difficult task.
OF course, tried the effect of looking
glass Oh him, and equally of course, he
got red-hot whenever he would make a
rapid dive behind it and find nothing
there; but as one day he took up my best
toilet glass and in a frenzy OF passion
dashed it to the ground, breaking it into
fragments, | concluded that the fun was
not commensurate with the expense, and
gave up that particular branch of his edu-
cation.
The Colonel took to his liquor like a
true soldier, and taught him TO raise his
glass in salutation before downing its
contents, and the gravity with which he
performed this feat, and the way he
smacked his lips after dram were eX-
eruciatingly funny. The Colonel, by the
way, had no ear for music. l had a three
cornered grand piano in my quarters
specially designed for the tropics, and a
tri-chord throughout This instrument.
which, when properly manipulated. was
capable OF producing considerable
volume of sound, happened TO be open
one day, and the monkey, which for some
time had been perched on an adjacent
jalousie, judged it, | concluded, to be a
convenient place to alight ON in his pas
sage to the ground. He made a leap and
landed plump on the keys at the bass end
of the board, making crash that nearly
made mo jump out OF my skin. But the
noise was nothing to compare with the
rack ct which the Colonel set up as he fled
bowling to my bedroom, and hid himself,
whining and shivering, under the couch.
1t was long time before l could persuade
him to come out, and whenever anyone
opened the piano to give US tune he in
variably removed himself as far from
what he considered the internal MACHINE
as the confines Of my quarters would adj
init.
One day, as I was lighting a cigar, the
Colonel held ont his hand, as l thought
for smoke, but instead | rendered him a
match, not feeling either inclined to lose
my smoke or to indulge after the mon
key. and to my surprise he was quite sat
isied, retiring yard or two with his
treasure. Being curious to learn what he
proposed to do, [ watched him furtivey.
and my amazement and mirth may be inn
and scratched assiduously with the match
on that part Of his person were the seat of
his pants would have been had he pos
sessed any. | naturally exploded with
laughter, all the more SO that the Colonel,
who generally joined in my cachinnatory