The simian tongue. [Pt. II].

  • Garner, R. L. (Richard Lynch), 1848-1920.
Date:
[1891]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The simian tongue. [Pt. II]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    but of a different species. She eyed me with evident interest and some suspicion, but when I would utter that sound for food she would respond promptly. While we were indulging in a kind of mutual investigation of affairs a negro girl, who lived with the family and frequently fed Jennie, being overcome by her curiosity, came into the yard and came up within a few feet of us. I at once decided that I would offer her as a sacrifice on the altar of science, so I arose and placed her between myself and the monkey and began to sound the “ alarm ” or “ menace ” with great vigour. Jennie flew into a perfect fit of fright. I continued to sound it, and at the same time to attack the girl with a great display of violence, thus causing the monkey to believe that the girl had made the alarm. I then drove the girl away from the yard with a great flourish of paper wads and pea-nut shells, and returned to the little monkey to pacify her. She became quite calm and seemed to think I was her hero, but for days she would not allow the girl to feed or approach her. This quite confirmed my opinion as to the meaning of this peculiar piercing sound. A few weeks later I went to Cincinnati to visit my chimpanzee friends again, and I found immediately that they gave evidence of understanding one of the words which I used on approaching them. This word I had learned from the record of their speech which I had made last year. I have not had the opportunities to experi- ment with them which would justify my giving a very full account of any of their traits of speech, only to say this, that I am quite sure from my studies of their vocal character in the graphophone, and by listening to them in their cage, if I could be more intimately associated with them I could soon master their language ; but they are kept in a large cage, entirely enclosed in a house of glass, the outer doors of which are kept closed to avoid any change of tem- perature which might tell on their health, and the keeper is so apprehensive of some ill befalling them that he keeps them for ever under his eye. I succeeded in getting their attention as I tried to utter a sound of theirs, and I could get the female to come to me every time I would use it. I cannot fully describe it here, although it comes within the compass of human speech, and is not very diffi- cult to utter. It is not quite, but nearly, represented by h-ou-wh.