The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-21
THE TRADE IN MONKEYS.
fINGTAILS ARE WHAT THE ORGAN
 GRINDER NEEDS.
Other Varieties Unable to stand This CIlmnte--HOw tho Mandrills Won Their 1ndependence-Sour of Supp ply of the Monkrys-Somo Of Their Very Human Traits.
Very Human Traits.

According to Joe, the monkey keeper
 at the Central Park Zoo, monkeys dc
 not grow old gracefully. In their case
 years do not bring the phlosophic
 mind, and youthful playfuness is very
 likely to degenerate into bad temper
 If one doubts the theory, Joe shows his
 hands, which are so scanned with scars
 that they look like badly mended bric-
 a-bnc. Each scar is a testimonial
 from a friend, and most of them were
 made by monkeys who had been SC
 tame that they invited confiding care
 1essness, but who grew vicious with
 age,
 Private individuals have the same ex-
 periences with pet monkeys, but they
 take the episodes more seriously than
 Joe does; and he tells with lively con-
 tempt of the procession of women who present their pet monkeys to the Zoo, and tell thrilling tales about having been bitten by the ungrateful little wretches and having been saved from blood poisoning only by the efforts of a
 doctor.
 Nary bite worth speaking of." says Joe, anyhow monkey bites aren't
 
 you have to have them sewed up, you just tie a rag around them, and there you are You don't want to wash the wound or bathe it in anything. It won't heal so fast, if you do. Anybody who keeps monkey oughtnt to nina an occasional bite"
 However, the average citizen does mind even an occasional bite, and, if he 1~ +; f, fotr r1t ot1f to turn up, unless the poor little beast is carried off in its amiable youth by bronchitis or pneumonia. A large share of the monkeys brought into this climate die of lung trouble; and the greatest care must be exercised in guarding them against sudden changes of temperature and protecting them during the cold weather. The South American ring-tail monkey stands this climate better than the African or Asi- attic monkey does; and is, as result. the chosen slave of the hand-organ man. No other monkey could stand be- ing dragged about the country, in rain, cold and seet, heat and cold; and even the ring-tailed are likely to die of the exposure. The organ grinder ordinarily kills from five to ten monkeys before he finds one that can stand the life; but when that one is found, nothing but an axe or dynamite could faze it.
 Another reason why the South Amer ican monkey stars with hand organs is that it Is the only one of it's race that can be trained we'll. It learns tricks readily and is willing to show them, while the Asiatic or African monkey has a propensity for stubborn and in corrigible sulks. Then, too, these anil mals, if confronted with anything new that startles or irritates them, may drop their veneer of civilization and slip back into savage wildness and Vi ciousness, while the ring-tail always does credit to his training and main- tains his serenity. His virtues are his undoing, and he leads the hardest life of any of his tribe.
 The ring-tails are brought directly to this port, in vessels running between New York and South American ports, but the importation is usually an irreg ular and desultory one, carried on by the captains and mates of the boats If they have an opportunity to pick up a few monkeys at a low price, they bring them on the home voyage and sell them to the deaers but they seldom bring many of the animals at one time. By the time the boat reaches this port, the monkeys have been handled by the sailors until they are comparatively tame and reconciled to captivity.
 The African and Asiatic monkeys are even tanner when they reach here; for they have passed through more hands. and have been longer on the way. They are usually bought for the Amer 1can trade, in Hamburg, Germany and come over in consignments of from flf- ty to two hundred in charge of a buy CT who looks out for their health and comfort. Many of them reach Ham, burg, in the same way that the ring tails reach New York, through the cap- tains and mates of trading vessels, who | import them as private speculation. | The Germans however, also carry on a | definite and systematic trade in mon- keys, and men are sent to Asia and | Africa, every year. to collect the ami maIs Some of the dealers have ar engagements with the natives by which the monkeys are captured and held for them, and the buyer makes only com paratively short trip, to inspect the ami mals and take them to Germany
 One species of monkey, the African has won immunity from cap- tivity by consistent and incorrigible vii ciousneses and intractability. Thou sands of the tribe fought, bled and died in the cause, and, like the old guard, they died but never surrendered. There should be a monument to those who made way for liberty in style, and showed the big grasping balloons and the frightened and the smaller Asiatic hordes that the tailless invaders might capture their bodies, but couldn't sub due their proud spirit. Now. as a re- suit of ancestral heroism, nnumera be nandrils are sportivey swinging by heir tails in African forests, serenely sure that they will not be disturbed. ; "They're a bad lot. the mandrils. It lon't pay to bother with tflem," say he dealers; but the Banderlogs know , hat the mandrlls are heroes The baboons and chimpanzees are fe- 'ocious and hard to handle but bring l good prices, and there is always a de- , nand for them The opening of new ' gardens throughout the Uni- $ ed States has increased the trade in ( but the American circus has