Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-02-01
aelisfellanenus 8eadimg.
MONKEYS AS COTTON PICKERS.
Successful Experiment of Mississippi
Cotton Picker.

Two years ago, at the Vicksburg
fair, in the fall of 1896, as Prof. S. M.
Tracy and Mr.. w. w. Mangum were
watching some trained monkeys per-
form their various tricks, Professor
Tracy said to Mr.. Mangum:
"As 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 profes-
sor at the Carroll House, he SAID:
swell, professor, l have been think
ing over your suggestion of teaching
monkeys to pick cotton, and am de.
termined to try the thing and see if it
will work. They have been taught to
do much more difficult things than
that, and 1 am almost sure they can
be taught to pick cotton. We can't
rely on the niggers much longer, and
next fail 1 am going to buy dozen
monkeys and see what can be DONE"
The next fall, that is in September
of 1897, Mr.. Mangrum hunted up the
the owner and trainer of 10 trained
monkeys in New York city, and made
arrangements 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 be
the simplest thing imaginable to teach
the monkeys to pick cotton.
These monkeys were placed upon
one of Mr.. Mangum's Mississippi plan.
tations about the middle of September
of that year, and the training began
The monkeys belonged to the race
known to scientists as Sphagtalis Vulga'
ris, and the males weigh about llC
pounds and the females about 80 pounds
each. Bags were made for each mon
key, which would hold about 25 pounds
of seed cotton, and bag placed ovei
the shoulder of each. 1t is surpris
ing to see how rapidly the trainer
taught the monkeys to pick the cotton
Baskets to hold the cotton were placed
at the end of the rows, and one man
over and above the trainer, was neces
sary to take the cotton 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 a month
after the monkeys were started at the
work they could pick on an average o
$50 pounds a day. They picked il
weather in which Negroes would mol
pick, and picked saner cottoe. The
cost of picking wa much less, and il
every way they made much better
pickers than the a, erage Negro.
The first experiment, although on
small scale, proved to Mr.. Mangun
that monkeys could be used with grea
success as cotton pickers, so in June
of 1898 he made another order for 3O(
monkeys of the same breed, on an ex
porter of monkeys from Africa, witt
the understanding that most of then
were to be females. About the first o
September of this year the new batch
of monkeys arrived, and the service:
of the old trainer were engaged t
train this new lot.
But this was not such an easy matter
as was at first thought, for many o
the new monkeys were still wild
But the trainer thoroughly understood
his business, having served for Ions
time under Barnum as trainer of mon
keys. Finally, with the aid of the II
old monkeys, who were of great assis
tance, and a great deal of punishment
and rewarding, the new gang were
pretty we'll trained by the middle o
October.
have watched this experiment will
greater interest than I have watched
any new thing in years. l have KEEP
in constant correspondence with MIR
Mangum about this matter and aDou
the middle of November visited hi:
plantation near Smedes to see The
monkeys at their work. must admi
that it was a glorious sight to see, anc
one that did my heart great good. The
rows were filled with monkeys, eact
one with her little cotton sack around
her neck, picking away quietly ano
orderly, and without any rush or con
fusion. When they got their sacks full
they would run to the end of the row
where a man was stationed to empty
them into the cotton basket, when they
would hurry back to their work. The
monkeys seemed to actually enjoy
picking.
That night I stayed all night with
Mr.. Mangum and we had long talk
about this matter. l asked him tc
give me the plain facts about the case
so 1 could give them, in to The Cotton
Planters Journal, to the cotton grow
ers of the south. Mr.. Mangum said
in substance:
~ consider the day that Professor
Tracy suggested to me the training Of
monkeys as cotton pickers as the most
fortunate day the south has seen in
many years. 1t means more to the
south than cotton picking machine for
the monkeys are success as pickers,
while the machines have been failures.
The monkeys are in every way superior
to Negroes as cotton pickers. In the
first place the cost of picking is only
about third. Then they are more
careful than Negroes, and pick clean