The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-02-13
MONKEYS IN CHURCH.
OPEN AIR CONGREGATION WHICH
THEY VOLUNTARILY JOINED.

HEY VOlUN TARIlY DINE
Some of Them Brought Their Babies with
Them and Boxed Their Ears When They
Showed Signs of neutrality-suspicious. of
Missionaries II India.
The most singular audience that l
ever saw gathered to listen to preaching
was an audience of monkeys, says an
India correspondent of the Boston Gold
en- Rule.
When I commenced work in the re-
gion which I have now occupied for
more than 30 years, / asked two fellow
missionaries to join me in a preaching
tour in the adjacent taluk, or county.
We first went with three native assist
ants to the taluk town, or county seat.
Our tents were pitched in a grove ad-
joining the town. We usually on our
tours went two and two to preach in the
villages; but, this being the taluk town,
and the first Of q preaching the gospel
in that region, we went in a body into
the native city.
Walking through the cloth, spice,
grain and iron merchants bazaar streets,
and then through the goldsmiths and
silversmiths' street, around through the
temple street, and then through the
street Of Brahman residences, to adver-
tise our presence az incite curiosity to
know what we were about, we finally
took our stand In the Brahman street,
and all joined in singing one Of the
beautiful Telugu Christian lyrics and
gathered an audience of interested lis.
teners.
We stood upon q little raised platform
on one side Of the street against the
house walls. The houses were all Of one
story, joined together like a city block,
with fat roofs and a low parapet along
the front of the roof. One of our native
assistants read a portion from the gos-
pels, and another preached briefly then
of my fellow missionaries followed,
preaching more at length, while /
watched the audience, to study the oun
%tenances Of the people among whom I
expected to work.
! had noticed that behind the houses
o the opposite side of the street there
was a long rowo Of trees growing in their
back yards, the branches of which
stretched out over the fiat roofs.
CHANGING to raise my eyes, I noticed
many branches of these trees beginning
to bend downward toward the roofs and
saw the faces Of some old jack monkeys
peering out through the foliage. Soon
some Of them jumped down and came
/ Gown, avI ~ ~,hok k1o;, GSh;r hrot1
ers'' in the street were about, as they
stood gazing so intently at these white
men standing on the platform. Spring
ing upon the parapet, they seated them
selves, with their hind feet hanging
over in front, and gazing with fixedness
at the preacher. as they saw the people
in the street doing.
Other monkeys followed, until there
was a long row of them thus seated on
the parapet. The late comers I could see
walking along behind the parapet, look
ing for a place wide enough to get O
seat. Failing to find a wide enough
place between two already seated mon
keys they would put up their hands,
and, pushing each one sidewise, would
seem to be saying, 'Sit along a little,
please, and give a fellow a seat, !" until
the 'bench" was crowded.
The audience in the street, standing
with their backs toward that row OF
houses, did not notice the monkeys, and
80 their attention was not distracted by
them.
l had noticed that many mother mon
keys had brought their babies to church
with them. These little baby monkeys
sat upon the thigh Of the mother, while
her hand was placed around them in q
very human fashion, but the sermon
was evidently too high for these little
folks to comprehend. CHANGING up, ]
saw one of the little monkeys cautiously
reach his hand around, and, catching
hold Of another baby monkeys tail,
give it a pull. The other little monkey
struck back, but each mother monkey
evidently disapproved Of this levity il
church, and each gave its W baby 6
box on the ears, as though saying: ''Sit
down. Don't you know how to behave
in church," The little monkeys, thu
reprimanded, turned the most solemn
faces toward the preacher and seemed
to listen intently to what he was saying,
With the exception Of a monkey now
and then trying to catch a flea that wa
biting him in some tender spot, they
thus sat demurely until the preaohe,
finished his and until we hat
distributed gospels and tracts among thu
audience and had started for our tents.
Our celestial audience" seeing GU
terrestrial audience dispensing, then
and not until then, left their seats ant
demurely walked back and sprang upol
the branches again. There were NJ
monkey capers'' as they went. The.
were as serious as a congregation leav
ing a church and sat upon the branche
in ameditative mood as though think
ing over what they had heard the preach
er say. And thusIwe left u uniqu
monkey AUDIENCE.
J l. E Don't SGfva Tn