The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-02-08
MONKEY COTTON PICKERS.
Successful Experiment Of Mississippi
Cotton Planter.

AOttUu IuuttIs
Two years ago, at the Vicksburg
Fair, in the Fall Of 1896, as Prof.
S. NJ. Tracy and Mr.. W. W. Mangum
were watching some trained monkeys
perform their various tricks, Prof.
Tracy said to Mr.. Mangum
Gas sure as you are alive, Mangum,
those monkeys can be taught to pick
cotton better and more cheaply than
our Negroes do, and perpetual fame
will be the part Of the man who first
tries the experiment.
At first Mr.. Mangum was inclined
to laugh at the idea but the more he
thought over the matter, and the more
he watched the monkeys at their vari
Gus tricks, the more he became con-
vinced that there was something in it,
and the next day as he left the Pro-
fessor at the Carroll House, he said
"Well, Professor, I have been
thinking over your suggestion Of teach
ing monkeys to pick cotton, and I am
determined to try the thing and see if
it will work. They have been taught
TO do much more difficult things than
that, and I am almost sure they can
be taught to pick cotton. We can't
rely on the niggers much longer, and
next Fall I am going to buy dozen
monkeys and see what can be done. "
The next Fall, that is in September
Of 1897, Mr.. Mapgum hunted up the
owner and trainer of ten trained mon
keys in New York city, and made ar
rangements both to buy the monkeys
and to get the services of their trainer
who understood the business, and as
sured Mr.. Mangum that it would 3e
the simplest thing imaginable to teach
the monkeys to pick cotton.
These monkeys were placed upon
one of Mr.. Mangum's Mississippi
plantations about the middle Of Sep
tember of that year, and the training
began. The monkeys belonged to the
race known to scientists as Sphagtalis
Vulgaris, and the males weigh about
ITO pounds and the females about 80
pounds each. Bags were made for
each monkey, which would hold about
25 pounds Of seed cotton, and bag
placed over the shoulder Of each. 1t
is surprising to see how rapidly the
trainer taught the monkeys to pick
the cotton. Baskets to hold the cot
ton were placed at the end of the
rows, and one man, over and above the
trainer, was necessary to take the cot
ton out of the sacks and put it in the
baskets. The females proved much
better pickers than the males, for they
not only picked cleaner cotton, but
they would also pick more of it in
day. In less than month after the
monkeys we're started at the work they
could pick on an average Of $50 pounds
a day. They picked in weather in
which negroes would not pick, and
picked cleaner cotton. The cost of
picking was much less, and in every
way they made much better pickers
than the average negro.
The first experiment, although on
small scale, proved to Mr.. Mangum
that monkeys could be used with great
success as cotton pickers, so in June
of 1888 he made another order for 300
monkeys Of the same breed, on an ex-
porter of monkeys from Africa. with
the understanding that most Of them
were to be females. About the first
of September of this year the new
batch Of monkeys arrived, and the
services of the old trainer were en-
gagged to train this new lot.
But this was not such an easy mat
ter as was at first thought, for many of
the monkeys were still wild. But the
trainer thoroughly understood his bus
iness, having served for long time
under Barnum as trainer of monkeys.
Finally, with the aid of the ten old
monkeys, who were Of great assistance
and a great deal of punishment and
rewarding, the new gang were pretty
we'll trained by the middle of October.
have watched this experiment with
greater interest than | have watched
any new things in years. | have kept
in constant correspondence with MIR.
Mangum about this matter, and about
the middle of November [ visited his
plantation near Smedes to see the
monkeys at their work | must admit
that it was glorious sight to see: and
one that did my heart great good. The
rows were filled with monkeys, each
one with her little cotton sack around