Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-06-05
Tilted Monkey Tries to Hang Self
GRANT PARK zoo AGOGI

Beppo. the shaggy monk Of the Grant
park ZOO. attempted suicide this morn
ing A skipping rope had been left
in his cage by a child. and with one
end of 1t around his neck and another
tied to a beam. Beppo lesped twenty
feet to the ground
Fortunately. he had neglected to tie
the knot securely and the rope slipped.
Immediately the whole place was in
an uproar The several kinsmen Of
Beppo rushed in and about the cage
with hysterical chatters The lion in a
distant cage roared his loudest. and the
iackals whipped about in their cells,
uttering strange. plaintive cries.
There was one of the monkey contin-
gent. however that refused to come
near the fallen Beppo In the slight
moment he was hurting through the
air. holding the belief that the rope 8
end would bring him death he had shot
glance at her. Though slight there
was pathos crowded into it, When he
struck the ground. she paid no atten-
ton but continued TO scamper about in
her corner
5eppo in Gloomy Silence.
After the excitement had quieted,
friends of Beppo began making inqui-
ries into the cause Of his hasty at
tempt at self destruction Beppo would
make no response, but crowded into a
corner and sat in gloomy silence all the
morning
But they all got together and com
pared notes on Beppo He had been
acting strangely of late OF course. he
was always a philosopher He was the
kind of monkey who would regard a bag
of peanuts critically before laying hold
of IT, because he knew that such an
action would bring second gift.
But philosophy was not responsible
could not have been sponsibIe-for
the dull disquiet which had hedged him
about since the slender chimpanzee had
been brought to the zoo direct from
some African shore.
Beppo had been a monk untouched
by sentiment None Of the feminine
of his tribe could lure him from the
placid Indifference which he wore all
the time But of late it had been differ
ent
When the chimpanzee was first
placed in the cage he had approached
her bearing gifts He carried her flow
carnations that a springtme wooer
had thrown through the grating. and
peanuts and bits of candy. She scorned
them all
The first rebuff made no particular
difference to Beppo He felt she was
playing game He persisted He
would follow her from limb to limb.
swinging by other than his hands. He
would gain position where she could
see him and then make hazardous leaps
through the air such as no other monk
would try But nothing he could do
seemed to penetrate that calm indif-
ference of the girl chimpanzee from
Africa
Even . Mirror Fails to Win Her.
One day he found a mirror and gave
it to her When she caught sight of
herself she laughed, and Beppo was
nightly pleased He was sure then
that the mirror was piece de resis-
lance. He was sure that she would
open her eyes to him. But the mirrors
novelty soon wore off She cast it from
her and scampered once more to the
limb of the dead tree and began busy
Ing herself with a series of knick-
knacks she had collected.
Beppo worried about her for while
but, failing to get her attention. he
departed in sorrow. There was no more
Joy in Zooland for Repro. For this
reason he caught readily at the rope
which was flung into the cage
Choosing a time when no one was
looking. he flung the rope over a high
beam and tied it, There was already
moose in the end, and this he slipped
over his head After mounting to the
beam. he uttered one farewell screeCh
and made the leap But the rope did
not hold
The occupants of Beppo's cage have
taken good care TO see that no weap-
ons of destruction are left near him
Meanwhile committee will wait upon
the girl chimpanzee from Africa and
beseech her to have little pity.