The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-05-10
GIRL BATTLES WITH APE
Monster 0rang-0utang Escapes From
His Cage.
Miss BartIes Faces Enrnsed Beast in Her
Fathers New York City
Store.

New York City.-Pretty eighteen
year-old Lillian Barties for al hour and
4 half fought a giant orang-outang
which had escaped from its cage. Her
father, William Bart.es, is an importer
of wild animals and las a store at No.
160 Greenwich street. The huge mon.
key, which stands FOUR feet six i'll
height, anG weighs about 40 pounds,
was one of 4 consignment recently re-
ceived from India.
Reinforcements il the shape Of three
men, at the end of i fierce struggle,
saved the girl from being seriously in
jured.
The ape acted mostly or the defen-
sive while seeking freedom, so long
as the girl was his only adversary,
but when the men look a hand he
turned. savagely upon them and bit
one so badly his hand may have to be
amputated.
Miss Lillian assists in the big store,
in which all Il Of animals, birds
and fishes are exposed for sale. At 8
o'clock at night the doors had been
locked, business was at an end. II
she was sitting at her desk busy book
keeping. when the big o~rang-outang,
without a moments warning, suddenly
seized the bars of his cage and broke
them to pieces. The next moment he
leaped to the floor.
Miss Bartles was alarmed, but she
did not lose her presence of mind. APP
rroooI;ror +I,o h,,oo animal u.hiah wac
chattering what seemed to be all sorts
of horrible threats, she tried to o 1t
back to it's cage. Meanwhile all the
various birds and beasts broke out into
a perfect bedlam. The din was ter
rifle
The store was brilliantly lighted, the
window curtains W, and quickly an
excited crowd of more than Il hundred
gathered on the sidewalk. Some tried
to force the locked {. RS and aid the
girl in her alarming plight.
Miss Bartles fixed her big srown eyes
on the brute and tried to cow it into
submission. She sought no aid. For
q moment it stood chattering, and
showing its great white teeth. Slowly
she approached it, holding an apple in
her hand as bait to lure it into cap
tivity again. When within q foot Of
it the p suddenly bounded toward q
winding iron staircase, which leads,
from the store to the residence OF the
Bartles.
Then a strange chase began. Up two
stories the girl followed ct the heels
of the ape. The door above was closed.
The ape turned at bay. Then the Sit
uation was reversed.
Down the stairs again flew the girl
with the great brute close behind. The
courage she had in facing ner escaped
prisoner began to oozs when she found
it pursuing her.
S~ide-stepping to the rear of the store,
she hid for q moment as the now thor
oughly frenzied brute dashed down
again. Meantime tie terrified specta-
tors on the sidewalk were yelling for
the police, the fire engines and any sort
Of help. Three men more plucky III
the rest had rushed up the stairs to the
Bartles residence and they followed the
ape dow the stairway to the store.
Seeing himself outnumbered. the
monkey then sought to escape through
the big plate-glass windows to the
street. In these WINDOWS are large
tanks, containing gold and ether fancy
fish. Into one Of these the monkey
Topped, and becoming almost entirely
immersed, splashed and foundered Ike
a drowning man. This seemed to cool
his excitement to some extent.
Miss Lillian, who had been reinforced
by her cousin, Miss Freda Bartles,
then rallied and took command OF the
attack, issuing orders to her three male
volunteers. To one she threw a big
sack, telling him to put it over the
monkeys head. This he did, but drip
ping with water, and full Of fight. the
ape sprang from the tank, and fastened
his fangs in the mans hand.
The other two fell upon him, how
ever, and, beating BIN with clubs and
sticks, reduced him to submission. He
was carried back to his cage in a con-
dition suggestive Of his having had an
argument with ap entire squad of po-
lice.
Miss Lillian suffered no worse harm
than a few scratches on the hand. Inc
unknown man who aided her and who
was bitten by the ape, had his wounds
dressed at q neighboring drug store
and went home. l.,