The evening times., 1899-04-05
PINK-WHISKERED MIKE.
Said to He the Only Genuine OranR
Outang i'm Captivity.
(From the Kansas City Times


Unbelieyers in Darwin's theory of the
descent OF man from the monkey should
journey out to the Zoo today and take
careful look at the first orang- -outang ever
seen in Kansas City. This remarkable an
imal arrived al the Union depot yesterday
morning. with its thin black arms wrap
ped affectionateiy about the neck of
Frank Bostock, the Zoos manager. From
the depot it was driven 10 the Zoo, at
Twelfth Street and Troost Avenue, in
rubber-tired carriage. AS result Of the
exposure to the cold air to and from the
carriage the little brute contracted slight
cold. Yesterday afternoon and during
most of the hours of the night this miss
ing link" coughed. Mr.. Bostock induced
the thing to open its mouth after promis-
ing candy and peanuts. The teeth had
barely opened before the man had showed
| a five grain quinine capsule down the
Critters throat. This made the beast
angry and ii pouted. Red flannel was
wrapped about the funny little chest, when
his 0rang- g-outangship was put 10 bed last
night. But the quinine 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.. Bostock once
| possessed one in this country from which
he made many dollars through exhibitions,
| but he declares that it died from the ef-
| fects of cold contracted on 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 10 Mr.. Bos-
! took from Philadelphia for its exhibition
| there. It Is said that the maker OF this
offer agreed to pay large sums, and thar
| the beast died within forty-eight hours
/ after reaching the Quaker City.
II would not have taken $4,000 fer
| Tess Mr.. Bostock said yesterday, at he
sat on the edge of bunk in an anteroom
at the Zoo and patted the billiard ball-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 liens in there seems TO
| frighten him. But I'll take care of him
! like I 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 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. \ 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 10 the
| Philippines, During the voyage the beast
was affectionately dubbed Mike
| IF he lives | shall inaugurate a voting
contest TO settle on an appropriate name
| for him and let the newspapers settle il
did this with Tess Mr.. Bostock 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 ehappie 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 a child. He has red hair. The
| nose is fiat 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 popularity 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
a 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.