The times., 1899-04-03
PINK-WHIsKERED MIKE.
said to Rc the Only Gcnuine oranE-
Outnng in Captivity.
(From the Kansas CITY Timcs.)

tFrom the Kansas City TimcS.)
Uabe'ievers in Darwins theory OF the
descent OF man from the monkey should
Journey cut 10 the Zoo today and take a
careful lcok at the first orang- -outeRg ever
| seen IN Kansas City. This remarkable an
imai arrived at the Union depot yesterday
morning, with its thin black arms wrap
ped aifectionateiy about the neck OF
Frank Bostock. the Zoos manager From
the depot it was driven to the Zoo. at
Twelfth Street and Troost Avenue, in a
rubber tired carriage. AS result OF the
exposure TO the cold air to aud from the
carriage the little brute contracted slight
cold. Yesterday afternoon and during
most of the hours OF the night this miss
ing link" cougned. MIR. Bostnck induced
the thing to open its mouth after p;onjs-
ing candy and peanuts. The teeth had
barely opened before he man had showed
fve-grain quinine capsule down The
critters" throat. This made the beast
angry and it pouted. Red flannel vas
wrapped about the funny little chest. when
his Orang- outangship was pat TO bed last
night. But the quiriae produced headache
and the creature cried far into the night
This orang -outang is declared 10 be the
only one in captivity, either in the States
or on the Continent. Mr.. Dostock once
possessed one in this country from which
ne made many dollars through exhibitions,
but he declares that it died from the ef
fects Of q cold contracted on a trip from
Chicago to Philadelphia in palace sleep
ing car. The animal was known as Tess"
She was exhibited in Chicago for several
months before an offer came to Mr.. Bos-
took from Philadelphia for its exhibition
there. 1t is said that the maker of this
offer agreed to pay large sums. and that
the beast died within forty-eight hours
after reaching the Quaker City.
Il would not have taken $4,000 for
Tess Mr.. Bostock said yesterday, at he
sat on the edge of bunk in an anteroom
at the Zoo and patted the billiard bali-like
head of his new missing link" Il am
afraid that this fellow will die, too" he
went on. He has a cold now and the
roaring of the lions in there seems to
frigbten him. But I'll take care OF him
like l would child OF my own
This little orang- -outang will be placed
on exhibition this afternoon in glass case
near the north end OF the Zoo. The beast
has something of a history. He is three
years old and was secured from a native in
Borneo, who caught the little rascal one
dark night over two years ago. a repre-
sentative of Mr.. Bostock bought him with
a string of beads. This representative
brought the little fellow across the Pacific
on one of the Governments transports
which carried Uncle Sans troops to the
fnliipplneS- during the voyage the beast
was affectionately dubbed Mike"
IF he lives / shall inaugurate voting
contest to settle on an appropriate name
for him and let the newspapers settle it.
l did this with Tess" Mr.. Bustock said
Mike or whatever is to be his name
is the funniest looking animal mortal eyes
ever rested upon. He is about twenty
! inches tall in his stocking feet and wears
trousers. He wears long stockings and
store shoes and has collar around his
neck Just like an ordinary chappie wears
on Petticoat Lane during the busiest shop
| ping hours OF the biggest bargain sale day.
| His head is round and his eyes are like
those of child. He has red hair. The
nose is fat and the mouth is prominent
but he is better looking in the face than
some men. His hands are long and bony
| and the lines in the palm correspond with
| those of man. The feet are regular The
| thumb of the hand and the great toe of
| the foot are alone unlike the human ex-
| tremities. Both the thumb and the great
| toe have the requisite number of joints,
! but they are too short by three inches.
| One amusing peculiarity about one so
young in years is that this baby orang-
outang has an abundant growth of flaming
| red 'sideburn" whiskers which extend
| down the face TO point on each cheek on
line with the tip OF the nose. He has
! hair on his arms and legs, too. He eats,
| sleeps, drinks. walks, and pouts just like
an ordinary child. He never puts the
knife in his mouth when he eats and he
always draws the napkin across his prom
inent mouth when the meal is ended He
can do most any old thing but talk.