J. Fischer

“ After nine days, I had only to call out, "Bring in the serpent," for the monkey to disappear under the straw. Long after the serpent had been restored to health and the baths had been discontinued, the repetition of the order would set Molly a-trembling at any time.
Perty says that dogs are the only animals capable of reading human physiognomy; but one has only to possess monkeys and be acquainted with them to know that they too can read it better than children can. I except New World monkeys, which have little or none of the faculty. ”

“ I answered him that, according to my experiments, the gesture was a mark of simian politeness. Once in position, the monkey expects to be scratched, just as when we extend our hand to another person we expect to receive his. Darwin verified my observation, and compared the gesture with certain forms of salutation among savages, such as those by feeling the belly or rubbing noses. My rhesus, not succeeding in getting scratched by his image, turned around and passed his hand behind the glass to feel for it. ”

“ A very fine mandrill of my pets having a habit of prying about, I found no better way of restricting his investigations, which were sometimes annoying, than to put snake-skins under the objects I wished him to respect. ”

“ The conclusion is forced by these facts, that monkeys by experience become more prudent and more cunning. Carrying experiments of this kind further, I have observed that the monkey can recognize the object of its fear even in a picture, manifesting a faculty which is largely wanting in little children and savages. I one day received an armorer's illustrated catalogue. It had among other objects a drawing of a revolver of the natural size, an arm which the rhesus had never yet seen. I gave the catalogue to my pet, and he, after the manner of many monkeys, began to turn the leaves. ”

“ As the thoughts of monkeys are excessively limited in extent and their wants relate solely to food and the struggle for existence, their language is but little varied, and is composed chiefly of vowels pronounced with different intonations and accompanied by different expressions of the figure, the most common of which are laughing and grinning, and which each species performs in its own peculiar fashion. The expressions of anger are also characteristic, and vary with the species. ”

“ Among monkeys, as with man and other animals, there are individuals of extensive and individuals of very limited gifts in the same species. None of the many monkeys could distinguish pictures of landscapes or houses, in respect to which they were precisely like savages. ”

“ It is useless to show dogs faithful drawings of the dog, or of game; the result is nearly always the same. The animals will smell the paper, examining the substance, not the picture, and, once convinced there is nothing in it to exercise their teeth upon, they resignedly abstain from any more profound investigation. ”

“ Monkeys have a language, as among themselves, that is easily understood by individuals of the same species. Individuals of different species, if not too far remote, can after a time learn to understand each other ”

“ Perty says that monkeys can untie knots, but can not tie them. Is this a mark of inferiority? Monkeys, like other animals, have for most of their actions a determined object. My rhesus was obliged, to get honey, to open the closet and, to be at liberty, to untie the rope. ”

“ It occurs very frequently with the pavions, almost regularly, and the animal is often so overcome by its paroxysm that it can neither defend itself nor attack. Another sign of anger is given by shaking violently with the four hands the bars of the cage, the grating, or some support. This habit, born of the forest, is evidently intended to frighten enemies with noise. Molly never failed to exercise it when, after having been teased by any one, he heard him laugh. The cage was fastened to the table, and both were fastened to the wall. As long as the cage was loose, Molly would shake it. ”

“ I HAVE never bought any trained monkeys, but, in my experiments in domesticating wild ones, have always treated my animals with the greatest care, and chosen moral rather than physical means of discipline. ”

“ The anecdotes about the propensity of monkeys to imitate man are much exaggerated. They have a physical structure like his, and mental qualities in some respects not wholly dissimilar from his, and naturally make gestures like those of men ”

“ Some monkeys practice it under the influence of ennui or impatience, or when they wish to attract attention, and, in the lack of any other resource, the rhesus would hunt up in his straw a dry bread-crust, a nut-shell, a bone, or anything hard that he could strike against his cage-bars. ”