Evening star., 1932-03-07

Nearly every day Mrs. johnson visited
him and his inseparable playmate
Teddy the chimpanZee. Then he came
to the National Geological Park and she
did not see him again until yesterday.
When DR.. William NJ Mann telephone1
her Saturday night that he. was sick
she and her husband made immediate
arrangements to come to him.
Bring Familiar Clothes.
One of the first things to suggest
itself to Mr.. and Mrs. Johnson was to
bring the blue pa jana suit and the blue
overalls which they wore most of the
time during the voyage from Africa.
They thought that these familiar
clothes would make O'kero feel more
at ease with them-and this seemed to
be the case.
At the Zoo Okero has been a very
playful little animal and, up to Satur-
day. had been in perfect health. Then
he fell victim to the epidemic of colds
which seems to have attacked the
anthropoidS at the Zoo much as they
attack the children of a neighborhood.
1t is another evidence. according to DR..
John c. Eckhardt, child specialist who
is attending both O'kero and N'gi, of
their closeness to humans. Pneumonia
developed rapidly 1t would be hard to
imagine more athletic sight than lit
tie O'kero laying on his bed of straw
with his sad little black face upturned.
All gorillas look sad-O'kero espe-
cially SO.
Mrs. johnson said yesterday that
what O'kero needs most of all-even
more than medical attentions
"mothering." She will be obliged to
return to New York. but will be ready
to return to Washington Immediately
if any crisis develops in his condition.
Both the Johnsons appeared extremely
grief-stricken yesterday. For months
O'kero was their baby"
Probably no person living knows more
about the psychology of the big apes
than Mrs. Johnson. She has played
with both gorillas and chimpanzees in
health and nursed them in sickness.
There is a vast difference between the
two. she says which can be sepsed more
easily than it can be described. The
chimpanzee, she says. seems to have a
good brain and is quick to learn, but it
must be taught. 1t has no original
ideas.
GOrillas Show Reason.
But, she says, anybody who watches
baby gorilla over a period Of months
will be certain that it naturally picks
things up without being taught, reasons
out situations, and resi- ponds like a
human baby in every way except Vocall-
zation. Even in this last respect, she
believes, the gorilla has something
closely approaching language. The
Johnsons have made sound pictures of
q erOri1lo hiOh -nitphpH rVthnlp
succession of sounds which they emit in
their gentler moments and which is
vastly different from their customary
roars. She has heard O'kero sing it
and also full-grown gorillaS.
O'Kero never has had such a place in
the affections CT the Washington pub
lie at N'gi The 6-year-old gorilla has
been like the first-born of a family.
OKero5 arrival was unheralded. He
differs rather strikingly in personality
from the older gorilla according to DR..
William M. Mann, Zoo director. He ap-
pears to be much mere independent,
does not make friends so easily and Is
less ready to appeal for sympathy.
N'gi was taken out of the oxygen
chamber yesterday after second surgi-
cal operation performed by DR.. Howard
Smith, assistant to DR.. Charles II.
WlllLe, WHO CpCIdOtu OIl Illill Ailul o~ioy
night At that time a tube was placed
in his pleural cavity to drain the fluid
which was gathering about his lungs
and gradually choking him to death.
Saturday night N'gi pulled out this tube
and it had to be replaced. A specially
constructed leather jacket was placed
about his chest so that he cannot pull
out the tube again.
N'gi proved a perfect surgical patient,
said DR.. Davis E. Buckingham. veter-
marian, who assisted in the operation.
1t was performed under local anaes-
thetic while Headkeeper William H.
Blackburn and Paul Holup, Ngi's spe-
cial keeper, held his head N'gi. said DR..
Buckingham. lay perfectly quiet, giving
only one involuntary twitch OF pain
when the tube was pressed into the
pleural cavity.
Submits Philosophically.
az have never seen any animal act
just like that" said DR.. Buckingham.
He seems to take a philosophical at
titude about the whole affair. N'Gi
is pretty weak. but there is no USE
thinking he is not strong enough to pat
up hard fight if he wanted to when
he is hurt But he seems to realize
that what We are doing is for his own
good"
After the operation N'Gi's bed was
changed, he was covered with clean
blanket and he laid back with his head
propped up by straw pillow, looking
for all the world like human patient
on a hospital bed after the nurse has
IAn ATECE CIIEDDN