Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-19
THEIR FATAL CURIOSITY
Results in the Capture Of Whole Droves Of
Monkeys.
n Curious Industry That IL Followed
ON the Isthmus OF Panama
Supplying the Market.

Nearly all the monkeys which one sees
in the United States come from Gorgona. a
little village which is situated a short dis
lance from the Panama railroad" said
New York dealer in monkeys to writer
for The Star. 1.-The Inhabitants of this dis
trict are mostly native negroes, for no
white man could exist in such trying
climate without drinking plenty of whisky
and almost constantly taking quinine. The
whole region is marshy and covered with
extremely profuse tropical vegetation. At
night there arises a thick vapor. laden
with fever. which hangs over the woods
like cloud.
This region of wood is the paradise of
the monkeys. They travel in troops around
the woods and are generally led by several
old monkeys. Only few months ago /
had occasion to visit this monkey town
and was compelled to spend a night in
shanty belonging to an old negro. In the
early morning. as We sat at breakfast. the
creatures came around the veranda in
most curiously human way. The mothers
brought their families and while waiting
for scraps of food that the old darkey was
accustomed to throw to them during meals
they went on with the toilet of the nursery
with the most ludicrous gravity and
method. One by one the youngsters had
to come up to be dressed. and 1t was very
funny to see how they tried to shirk what
was their equivalent for the tub. towel and
soap. winch our own Cn1i0ren 90 their best
to evade.
Each one. as its turn came, whimpered
lay down and made itself heavy as chill
dren say. so that the mother had to drag
ii toward her by leg arm.
AS soon as the process of scratching and
combing was over the little ones skipped
off with an agility that was amazing. but
never quite quickly enough to escape the
box on the ear which the parent generally
administered as finishing touch.
And what a pathos there was. too, about
the way in which the mothers brought
their young ones up to within a few feet
of our table for food. The very tiny ones.
the babies in arms were held out to
just as the bcggar woman of our own spe-
cies holds out her starving child. The
youngest were pushed to the front. Mis-
behavior was promptly suppressed by the
elders. who sat sedItely in the back row,
and but seldom got anything. Our ges-
lures were understood by them with as
tonshing intelligence. If the knives and
forks were laid down there was at once
movement of subsistence in the assembly;
expectations of those sunk within them;
they knew the meal was ending. As soon
as we made a sign of rising the congre-
cation broke up. the mothers came to the
front, and all guests walked quickly
down the turf and disappeared into the
woods In few minutes they had so
completely vanished that it was difficult
to believe that thousands oil monkeys were
within few yards
Catching Them Alive.
How are monkeys caught?
We'll. when the people receive the In
formation that the travelling monkey
troops are near the village they repair
to the woods in crowds to chase them.
Their plan is very simple. They procure
a cocoanu: in which a hole is cut just
large enough to admit monkeys paw.
The nut is next followed out, and big
lu1rD of sugar is placed in it.. A long piece
of string is then fastened securely to the
nut. and il is placed in the road or path of
the approaching monkeys. 1t is known
that monkeys are very inquisltive animals.
As soon as they see the lonesome cocoanut
in the grass they hurry to examine 1t thor
o,ighly 1t is "a curious sight to see how
quickly they will climb from the trees,
chattering the while, to take a good view
of the concern
1t does not take them long to discover
that the inner part contains a piece of
sugar One of the boidest and greediest
sticks paw into the nut to get the sugar
and grasps it as tightly as he can. But
his fist is so large that he cannot draw 1t
cut of the hole again with the sugar, which
he holds fast to. cost what it may. The
negroes now pull the string until nut and
n onkey arrive in the vicinity of their am
luScade- In the meantime the other mon
Keys wonder what is the matter with their
cGmrade- They hurry to see where he Is
being pulled to with his paw in the cocoa
nut. the crowd around him chatterng and
geSticula ting to their hearts content.
Now the great moment has come. The
negroes have a large net ready and they
spread il out over the unsuspecting mon
keys. and be- fore they are aware of 1t they
are prisoners They sold to the en-
pfoyes of the Panama railroad. and reach
the North American market through COM
mercial dealers"