The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-05
MISS HERMANN BACK TO DUTY.
HELPS WITH THE RED INK on A
REPORT TO FIRE HEADQUARTERS
In Winter Quarters in the Ghetto She Has
Developed Habit OF Pulling Whiskers
still Chews Tobacco and Prefers 10
wear No Clothes, but Loves Ice Cream

Il
Developed q Habit OF Pulling Whiskeri
still Chews Tobacco and Prefers to
wear No Clothes, but Loves Ice Cream,
Miss Hermann. who has been spending
the winter and early spring in a steam
heated apartment in the Ghetto. has re-
turned to her home in Elm street, at the
quarters Of Engine 81, looking somewhat
thinner than when she went away. She
held reception yesterday in the street in
front OF the engine house and about hum
bred little boys and girls gathered around
her while she turned somersaults. chewed
tobacco and ate the burnt ends Of matches
that were extended to her blazing, but
which she deity put out with her right hand
before biting
Miss Hermann appeared in the primitive
simplicity Of dress sanctioned by jungle
ethics and was not a bit ashamed. although
she has at least three good suits of clothing.
Unlike pebeian hand organ monkeys Miss
Hermann was not in leash She roamed
at her own sweet will all over the neighbor-
hood, always returning to the engine house.
She had been assisting Foreman McAuliffe
yesterday morning in the preparation Of a
report and upset the red ink. which she
wiped from her fingers on her face. after
writing her autograph with both feet on
the foremans desk, and this gave her a
fierce and warlike aspect not in consonance
with her gentle manner and soft eyes.
Miss Hermann's custodians in the Ghetto,
the flremen say kept her tied up part of
the time, probably fearing that she would
escape and go back to the engine house
When she did return few days ago she
recognized everybody and refused at first
to go further away than the curbstone in
to females, and one Of the first things she did
after trying the brass sliding bar used by
the fremen to ia cilitate getting downstairs
was to have fight with Pinkey. the female
coach dog that runs with Engine 81. Pinkey
bit small section of brown hair out of
Miss Hermanns side and she clawed sew
eral punches Of fur from the bac Of Pinkey,
who had hard time in wild run about the
engine house shaking off her rider. Since
then thew have avoided each other.
habit since her sojourn in the Ghetto. She
prefers men with whskers and takes much
pleasure in pulling the whiskers. 1t was
the impression among those who had charge
of her on the East Side that she was Of the
sterner sex. and they made for her sailor
suit, fireman's outfit and policeman's
uniform. She has not worn any of these at
the engine house except her fireman's uni
form. She does not like to be dressed up.
MS clothing interferes with her freedom Of
action, and her habits are acrobatic.
Miss Hermann was asleep when she heard
the gong sound for the first time since she
left for the Ghetto, last October. 1t woke
her in fash and she Immediately ran up
stairs and came down the brass pole, Shrek
ing in a language that, the firemen say,
strikingly resembles Chinese. She kept
running up stairs and sliding down the pole
until the engine was a block away. She
has not yet got into the habit of running
with the machine. She is a bit shy of the
horses and the clatter of the apparatus
makes her nervous.
Miss Hermann, her friends in the firehouse
say, is the cleanest monkey they have ever
heard Of or seen, notwithstanding her
unladylike habit of chewing tobacco, which
she acquired by long experience at sea
with skipper who fairly ate the weed.
She carefully brushes everything that is
handed to her. and is a strict vegetarian.
Unlike most monkeys, she will not eat
peanuts. Her favorite dish is ice cream
and cake, and when fireman takes her out
to neighboring confectioner's and treats
her, she eats with a spoon, and with pro-
priety and a solemnity that make the little
girls who may be around envy her table
manners.