The National tribune., 1894-03-22
PROF. GARNER'S MONKEYS.
He Tells Some of the Results of His Odd
African Expedition.

| Prof. r. L. Garner gave to large audience
| in the Princes Hall last night an interesting
| account of his work and methods in study ing
| the speech OF monkeys and the habits of the
| gorilla and chimpanzee in their native forests,
says writer in the London Times. He was not
himself startled, he said, to find that monkeys
| spoke though to some it was an incredible idea.
Mr.. Darwin had only touched the subject of
| speech in a distant manner, though he inti-
mated rather vaguely his belief that animals
could not talk. Aristotle held the same opn-
ion, and the Church. whether or not on Script
ural authority, maintained the same view. In
the pursuit of his object he had been terribly
in earnest and had faced every kind of hard
ship. No day had been too long, no sun too hot
for him, in his endeavors to solve the question,
"Do monkeys tak?"
1t was his unconditional opinion that mon
keys talked. These animals had a limited
power of thought. Many mems power of
thought was limited but thought was thought
however great the difference in the extent of
the faculty between man and man. Every ana
tomical condition present in man was present
in the monkey. For months he had lived alone
with chimpaDZee, with which he got to be on
the most friendly terms. He doubted some-
times how far he was chimpauzee or the ape was
human. He could not say much for the morals
of the chimpanzee; but he could say the same
Of many human beings. He had native boy
with him when he lived with the chimpanzee
He was ignorant both of the boys speech and
that of the ape. The boy, however, mastered
the chimpanzee language sooner than be did,
TO his chlmpanzee as to the boy, he conveyed
by speech the common requirements of life
bread, water fire-by learning the tongue of
the animal as he had learned that of the boy.
God could never have given these brutes so
much of feeling, emotion, and intelligence
without giving them corresponding power of
speech.
He generally spoke, especially to the smaller
monkeys by the phonograph, in which their
speech had been previously registered. Un-
questionably these animals addressed certain
sounds to the individual and waited for re-
sponse. lntonation, infection, paradigms were
no doubt absent, but these were the products
of centuries of evolution. There was, however,
undoubted variety in the tones of the ape. To
his mind the evidence was clear that monkeys
could count, and his friend Moses" the chim-
panzee, would, in obedience to the word of COM
mand, do his appointed task of laying a certain
number of blocks in a certain number of holes,
and after doing so would run up in eager ex-
pectation of his reward The first night he
spent In the cage with which he was equipped
was one of the proudest of his life. Sometimes,
indeed, he was lonely. The gorilla was an ami
NAL OF shy habits, but his own monkey travel
ing companions attracted them, and gorilla
now and then would pay him visit. He be-
lieved he had seen more gorilas than any other
white man. The natives told him he would
have seen more if he had blacked his face, but
the scarcity OF water deferred him from doing
so. During the nine months he was on the
coast he had fever 12 times. His friend Moses
was also ILL., and his other chimpanzee. Aaron,
treated Moses with the greatest care and ten.
derness. The natives regarded the cage as a
sort of fetish. On one occasion he was favored
with prolonged visit from lady gorilla, who
was chasing dog to which he was in the habit
of giving an occasional bone. He was not how
ever, able to hold much converse with her. as
she was too much astonished to talk 1t was
his intention to return to Africa bring back
number of chimpanzees, and give practical
illustration of the progress he had made.