The New York herald., 1922-12-01
BABY ORANG insists
ON SAYING PRAYERS
Zoo Curator Up All Night
for Now / Lay Me- of
Infant Ape.
TO0MEY FALLS DOWN
! Little New Arrival Has to
Have Ditmars Listen to
Petition.
CHILDHOOD HABIT STRONG
Jungle Devotions Lead to
Much Useless Conversation
at Scarsdale Villa.
CHILDHOOD HABIT STRONG

What with jungle exiles falling sick
or into melancholy, and requiring
medication end the indispensable up
lift of a cheerful spirit. it is seldom
that\ Raymond L. Ditmars Eve will
omit, to save space, the numerous al
phabetical combinations which should
be tagged after his naIne) can get
home from his job as curator OF the
Bronx Zoo until practically daylight
every morning. Morning after morn
ing young Ditmars drags himself UP
TO his Scarsdale villa with hardly
strength enough to buzz the bell. AS
Mrs Ditmars said to him yesterday
morning: did marry a scientist or
a night watchman: To which Ray
instantly replied: THE terms are
often interchangeable, my dear"
Anyway, Curator Ditmars wearily
wended his way homeward yesterday
morning, arriving at the villa at pre-
cisely 4:37 A. NJ Ot is essential to be
accurate in these little details) and for
about the queerest reason that had ever
kept him up late or made him regret
that he hadn't gone into the deicates-
sen business
Meeting Monkeys Common
To begin at the beginning. always
tiresome and commonplace perform
ance. Curator Ditmars was called over
to Philadelphia on Monday to meet an
orang-utan immigrant at the docks. It's
so common for Mr.. Ditmars to have to
go to some seaport or other to meet an
orang-utan, a chmpanzee or baooon
that one might think the ape people
didn't know anybody else In America
Only a little while ago Ray had to 60
MI the way to San Francisco TO well
como Rajang, a Borneo orang who Is
one, of the swiftest little jokcrs any
where about Coming over on the
Overland Limited she snatched the cor
puIent conductors feet from under him.
Earring the whole Southern Pacific road
bed, and shortly afterward held up the
news butcher, threw his periodicals out
OF the window and looted his baskets OF
tho nuts and apples she required.
At Philadelphia Ditmars met Mrs
Sidney Wilmer of 1880 Broadway. who
had brought with her from Singapore
the cutest little creature in the way OF
baby orang you ever laid your eyes
on. She brought it--her, rather-espe-
eiaIiv for the Bronx Zoo. and Ray Dit
mars saw at once that Jennie. roly-poly
apc baby with maybe that half OF
human soul In her" that kipling talks
OF. was about the most important aqui-
sition OF the kind that had ever come
10 the society He cuddled Jennie pretty
closely as he examined her domelike
forehead. broad head and large, intelli-
gent eyes, and Jennie liked the cuddling
at once. The little thing. only year
and a half old no bigger, than a very
small human baby. and as fat and sassy
and affectionate as the cutest and
healthiest human baby that ever lived,
took TO Ditmars instantly. This was
the real reason for what happened late
on Wednesday night.
Toomey Given Charge.
When Curator Ditmars delivered
little Jennie Orang-Utan at the Zoo on
Tuesday he turned her over to the spe-
cial care OF Toomey. Everybody knows
Toorney. Toomey is a real scientist.
though he doesn't deal In six cylinder
Latin phrases. But once In while
rroorney falls down. Like the rest or
MS he boots one now and then. IL was
the case with Toomey's treatment OF
Jennie When night came on Wednes-
day. the good Toomey, after seeing that
Jennie had had her warm milk. wanted
20 tuck her in her blanket and lullaby
her to sleep. But Toomey. to continue
40 odd a narrative as has come from
the Zoo i'm many day, could not make
Jennie 70 to sleep. Try as he would. the
baby orang was emphatically wide
awake and disturbed She was trying
10 tell him something. but for the life
Of him. Toomey. usually quick, couldn't
make out what IL was.
This went on for hours. Finally Jen-
mic fell into disturbed thought. Suddenly
she looked UP. her large bright eyes
shining with intelligence. she sprang
from her basket 10 the office table.
where lay the travelling cap that
Curator Ditmars had worn on tho trip
from Philadelphia. Jennie thrust the
can at Toomey. saying something which
sounded like: "Goomph. goomph.
roornph," but which undoubtedly Tin
the light of the facts we have now
meant. "Go get Mr.. Ditmars. go get
Mr.. Ditmars, go get Mr.. Ditmars."
Baby Ask. for Ditmars.
Toomey got that. He went imme-
diateiy to Curator Ditmars's private
office across the hall and told Mr.. Dit.
mars that the baby orang was asking
for him. The curator went at once Ia
Jennie and sat down BY her basket, lie
was already late getting away from the
100. but this didn't matter. For a very
long time he tried TO make out what she
wanted Then he tumbled. Jennie was
asking him to hear her say her prayers.
She had been taught 10 60 through the
motions. as the children say. but since
leaving Singapore the custom had not
been followed.
For some curious reason. habit or in.
stinct reasserted itself. and Jennie
aorpaqfIx, dapfandsI Soma unfs gba liIx ed
20 sfr by her while. like any other baby,
fns kneit BY her basket. closed her eyes
snd mumbled meaningless sounds. or
rore they meaningless? Ditmars doesn't
know for sure. And if he doesn't. who
does?