Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-01-06
NUMBER 22
THE APES MUTINIED.
ON A VOYAGE FROM AFRICA THEY
CAPTURED THE SHIP.

CAPTURED THE SHIP.
Drove All the Crew Excepting the Cap
tain Into the Rigging-The Exception
Was Fatal to Their Plans. il They Had
| Any-A Useful Bunch of Bananas.
''I have had some strange crews in
my experience, = said old Captain Ben
son, 'but the funniest kind of ships
company that / ever sailed with was
one Of big African apes and it happen
ed in this way.
1t was during that period Of the
lifetime of the great Snowman P. T.
Barnum, when he had his museum on
lower Broadway in New York city,
that my vessel was chartered by him to
60 out to Africa and to bring back a
cargo of wild animals that his agents
i'll that country had collected We had
three big and two baby elephants in the
hold, also a rhinoceros and a giraffe,
while in wooden houses ON deck we car
ried several zebras, number of ante
lope and deer, also ten huge apes as
large as men and looking in the face
exactly like the cartoons of the Emer-
aid Isle natives found in the humorous
papers. The apes were very intelligent
and were capable of being taught many
amusing tricks.
"On our voyage home I had occasion
a number of times to advise the officers
and men against teasing these creatures,
telling them that they We're known to
possess a good memory and were re-
vengeful and would surely make it a
point to get even with their tormentors
at the first opportunity, but as the
heavy wooden bars divided them from
the hairy faces that scowlcd at their
funmaking they felt safe enough to
give no heed to my warnings. The
mates and sailors took good care, how
ever, to pass at a safe distance from the
| cage in going about their work, for on
| two or three occasions the alert occu-
pants had been known to suddenly
thrust forth long muscular arm and
| grip the unwary seaman in such saw
age way as to elicit a howl Of pain on
Jacks part. l could go among them
without the slightest fear and several
times entered their cage for the purpose
of caring for sickly little baby ape
that had been born just after leaving
Africa, and for which the ocean voyage
subsequently proved too heroic, as it
died before we reached New York.
Zone morning the crew were all
aloft on the yards furling sail, for it
was blowing strong and the ship had
been obliged to reduce her spread of
canvas I had taken the wheel, and the
two mates were going from mast to
mast helping the work along by haul
ing upon the gear as it was required.
The apes had been fed short time be-
fore, and it must have been that had
| carelessly fastened the bar that secured
the cage door, for while I was locking
aloft | heard startled yell from my
two officers. and the next moment they
were climbing up the rigging like mon
keys themselves, while the crowd of
apes came leaping aft in pursuit of
them.
"Then the funniest scene that ever
witnessed was presented. Six of the
apes took stations at the foot of the
shrouds, so that each mast was guarded
on both sides, and the other four mount
ed the shrouds with all the agility of
sailors and sought to reach the men.
The apes followed the men as they
mounted higher and higher to escape;
then, when the latter could climb no
farther, they would grasp a stay that
led to some place of temporary safety
and slide down it, sometimes going
from one spar to another in this way.
For nearly an hour this impromptu ex-
hibition continued, and during all this
time the sentries on deck hopped about
in excitement, uttering cultural yelps,
which have no doubt were cries of en-
couragement and advice to their friends
aloft
'At last the big monkeys gave up the
chase and came down on deck, where
they joined the others, and all sat on
their launches, gazing up at the crew,
occasionally showing their rows Of
wicked looking teeth, as much as to
say All right, my fine fellows You
stay where you are if you know what s
good for your health.
81 had been thinking out plan to
recover possession OF my ship, and now
put it in execution. Apes are very fond
of bananas, and in my room l had a
fine bunch that had been green when
placed ON board, but which had ripened
perfectly since that time 1t gave me
something of heart spasm to part with
them, but l considered that if the
scheme worked the sacrifice would not
be great one. So lashed the wheel to
keep the ship steady, then brought the
fruit from below, carried it forward in
full view of the apes and placed it with
in their cage, standing beside the-door
and carelessly eating banana that I
had broken from the bunch.
"The apes crowded inside and fell to
work on those bananas as though it was
an eating match, with prize for the
one that consumed the greatest number
in given time. | slammed the door to
and fastened it upon my mutineers, and
you may be assured that for the re-
mainder of that voyage the security of
that gate was carefully looked after. -
Harper's Round Table