Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals, by R. Lee potx

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Title: Anecdotes of the Habits and

Instinct of Animals

Author: R Lee

Illustrator: Harrison Weir

Release Date: June 30, 2007 [EBook #21973] Language: English

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Produced by David Edwards, Marcia Brooks and the Online

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OF THE HABITS AND INSTINCT

OF ANIMALS.

Signed Copy

The Monkey Painter—Page 7.

M.DCCC.LII.

PRINTED BY J WERTHEIMER AND

CO.,CIRCUS PLACE, FINSBURY

In making a selection of anecdotes, thosehave been assembled which weresupplied by me to other works, and inmost instances have receivedconsiderable amplification; others havebeen given which never before wereprinted—perhaps not even written; whileall which have been transferred from otherpages to mine have received the stamp ofauthenticity Besides those whose namesare already mentioned, I have to thankseveral friends who have drawn fromtheir private stores for my advantage, andthus enabled me to offer much that isperfectly new

Dry details of science and classificationhave been laid aside, but a certain orderhas been kept to avoid confusion; and,although endeavours have been made tothrow as much interest as possible overthese recorded habits and actions of thebrute creation; I love the latter too well toraise a doubt by one word ofembellishment, even if I did not abstainfrom principle.

The intentions with which this work wascommenced have not been carried out,inasmuch as materials have crowded upon

me beyond all calculation; and, although alarge portion has been rejected, the

anecdotes related go no farther than theMammalia, while almost all animals were

to have been included

With regard to the remaining orders—ifthe present work should meet with afavourable reception, I shall hope nextyear to present the public with touchingand amusing proofs of the sagacity anddispositions of birds, and of "hair-breadthscapes" from reptiles, etc., some of whichwill, like those in the present volume, becarefully selected from the works oftravellers, from the resources of friends,and from my own experience

To the pleasing task of enlightening those,who, shut up in close cities, have noopportunity of observing for themselves,and to the still higher enjoyment ofdirecting young minds to an elevatingpursuit, the naturalist adds a gratificationeven better than all, by making known thehidden wonders of nature; and leaving tothose who delight in argument, the everunsolved question of where instinct endsand reason begins, he sets forth the love ofthe great Creator towards all Hiscreatures, and the ways He takes to showHis wisdom.

224237250254266271294297307

THE ASS.

CAMELS.—DROMEDARIES LLAMAS, etc.

ANECDOTES OF

The Monkey Painter

The Bear and her Cubs

The Shepard Dog and Cur

The Fox and the Hares

Leading the Blind Rat

Wild Horses and Wolves

Frontis54102176261330

ANIMALS.

THE QUADRUMANA,

OR MONKEY TRIBE.

Formed like man, and practicing similargestures, but with thumbs instead of greattoes upon their feet, and with so narrow aheel-bone, that even those who constantlywalk upright have not the firm anddignified step of human beings; theQuadrumana yet approximate so closely to

us, that they demand the first place in abook devoted principally to theintellectual (whether it be reason orinstinct) history of animals Thisapproximation is a matter of amusement tosome; but to the larger portion of mankind,

I should say, it is a source of disgust.

"Rapoynda," I exclaimed, one day, to atroublesome, inquisitive, restless negro,pointing to a black monkey, which muchresembled him in character, "that is yourbrother." Never shall I forget themalignant scowl which passed over theman's features at my heedless comparison

No apology, no kindness, not even the gift

of a smart waistcoat, which he greatlycoveted, ever restored me to his goodgraces; and I was not sorry when his Chiefsummoned him from my vicinity, for Idreaded his revenge

A few years after, I stood lost inadmiration before Sir Edwin Landseer'sinimitable picture of "the monkey who hadseen the world," in which nature and truth

lend their tone and force to the highestefforts of art; when a voice exclaimed,

"How can you waste your time looking atthat thing; such creatures ought never tohave been painted;" and although thespeaker was a religious man, he muttered

to himself, "I am not sure they ought ever

to have been made." The voice proceededfrom one of the finest instances of manlybeauty; one famed also for talent andacquirement Rapoynda started into myrecollection; and as I slowly left thetalented picture, I could not help smiling

at the common feeling between the savageand the gentleman, thereby proving itsuniversality

Never did any one start for a tropicalclimate with a greater antipathy towards

these "wild men" than I did; I lived years

in their vicinity and yet contrived to avoidall contact with them, and it was not till Iwas homeward-bound that my conversionwas effected The ship in which Mr.Bowdich and myself took a round-aboutcourse to England, was floating on a wideexpanse of water, disturbed only by theheavy swell, which forms the sole motion

in a calm; the watch on deck were seatednear the bows of the vessel, thepassengers and officers were almost allbelow, there was only myself and thehelmsman on the after-deck; he stoodlistlessly by the binnacle, and I waswholly occupied in reading A noisebetween a squeak and a chatter suddenlymet my ears; and before I could turn myhead to see whence it proceeded, a heavy,

living creature jumped on to my shouldersfrom behind, and its tail encircled mythroat I felt it was Jack, the cook'smonkey; the mischievous, malicious,mocking, but inimitable Jack, whosepranks had often made me laugh against

my will, as I watched him from a distance,but with whom I had never made the leastacquaintance Whether from fear orpresence of mind I do not pretend to say,but I remained perfectly still, and in aminute or two Jack put his head forwardand stared me in the face, uttering a sort ofcroak; he then descended on to my knees,examined my hands as if he were counting

my fingers, tried to take off my rings, andwhen I gave him some biscuit, curledhimself compactly into my lap We werefriends from that moment My aversion

thus cured, I have ever since feltindescribable interest and entertainment inwatching, studying, and protectingmonkeys We had several on board theabove-mentioned vessel, but Jack was theprince of them all.

Exclusively belonging to the cook,although a favourite with the whole crew,

my friend (a Cercopithecus from Senegal)had been at first kept by means of a cord,attached to the caboose; but, as he becamemore and more tame, his liberty wasextended, till at last he was allowed thewhole range of the ship, with theexception of the captain's and passengers'cabins The occupations which he markedout for himself began at early dawn, byoverturning the steward's parrot-cage

whenever he could get at it, in order tosecure the lump of sugar which then rolledout, or lick up the water which ran fromthe upset cup; he evidently intended to pullthe parrot's feathers, but the latter, byturning round as fast as Jack turned,always faced him, and his beak was tooformidable to be encountered I wasfrequently awakened by the quicktrampling of feet at this early hour, andknew it arose from a pursuit of Jack, inconsequence of some mischief on his part.Like all other nautical monkeys, hedescended into the forecastle, where hetwisted off the night-caps of the sailors asthey lay in their hammocks, stole theirknives, tools, etc., and if they were notvery active in the pursuit, thesepurloinings were thrown overboard.

When the preparations for breakfastbegan, Jack took his post in a corner nearthe grate, and when the cook's back wasturned, hooked out the pieces of biscuitwhich were toasting between the bars forthe men, and snatched the bunches of driedherbs, with which they tried to imitate tea,out of the tin mugs He sometimes scalded

or burnt his fingers by these tricks, whichkept him quiet for a few days; but nosooner was the pain gone than he repeatedthe mischief

Two days in each week, the pigs, whichformed part of our live stock, wereallowed to run about the deck forexercise, and then Jack was particularlyhappy: hiding himself behind a cask, hewould suddenly spring on to the back of

one of them, his face to the tail, and awayscampered his frightened steed.Sometimes an obstacle would impede thegallop, and then Jack, loosening the holdwhich he had acquired by digging his nailsinto the skin of the pig, industriously tried

to uncurl its tail, and if he were saluted by

a laugh from some one near by, he wouldlook up with an assumed air of wonder, asmuch as to say; What can you find to laughat? When the pigs were shut up, he thought

it his turn to give others a ride, and therewere three little monkeys, with red skinsand blue faces, whom he particularlyfavored: I frequently met him with all ofthem on his back at the same time,squeaking and huddling together, and withdifficulty preserving their seat; when hesuddenly stopped, and seemed to ask me

to praise the good-natured action which hewas performing He was, however,jealous of all those of his brethren whocame in contact with me, and freedhimself from two of his rivals by throwingthem into the sea One of them was a smallLion monkey, of great beauty and extremegentleness, and immediately after I hadbeen feeding him, Jack called him with acoaxing, patronizing air; but as soon as hewas within reach, the perfidious creatureseized him by the nape of his neck, and, asquick as thought, popped him over the side

of the ship We were going at a brisk rate,and although a rope was thrown out tohim, the poor little screaming thing wassoon left behind, very much to my distress,for his almost human agony of countenancewas painful to behold For this, Jack was

punished by being shut up all day in theempty hen-coop, in which he usuallypassed the night, and which he so hated,that when bed-time came, he generallyavoided the clutches of the steward; he,however, committed so much mischiefwhen unwatched, that it had becomenecessary to confine him at night, and Iwas often obliged to perform the office ofnursemaid Jack's principal punishment,however, was to be taken in front of thecage in which a panther belonging to mewas placed, in the fore part of the deck.His alarm was intense; the panther set uphis back and growled, but Jack instantlyclosed his eyes, and made himselfperfectly rigid I generally held him up bythe tail, and if I moved, he cautiouslyopened one eye; but if he caught sight of

even a corner of the cage, he shut it fast,and again pretended to be dead Hisdrollest trick was practised on a poorlittle black monkey; taking the opportunitywhen a calm, similar to that spoken ofabove, left him nearly the sole possessor

of the deck I do not know that he saw me,for I was sitting behind the companiondoor The men had been painting the shipoutside, and were putting a broad band ofwhite upon her, when they went to dinnerbelow, leaving their paint and brushes onthe upper deck Jack enticed his victim tohim, who meekly obeyed the summons;and, seizing him with one hand, he, withthe other, took the brush, and covered himwith the white fluid from head to foot Thelaugh of the man at the helm called myattention to the circumstance, and as soon

as Jack perceived he was discovered, hedropped his dripping brother, and rapidlyscampered up the rigging, till he gainedthe main-top, where he stood with hisnose between the bars, looking at whatwas going on below As the other monkeybegan to lick himself, I called up thesteward, who washed him clean withturpentine, and no harm ensued; but Jackwas afraid to come down, and only afterthree days passed in his elevated place ofrefuge did hunger compel him to descend.

He chose the moment when I was sitting

on deck, and, swinging himself by a rope,

he dropped suddenly into my lap, looking

so imploringly at me for pardon, that I notonly forgave him myself, but procured hisabsolution from others Jack and I parted alittle to the south of the Sicily Islands,

after five month's companionship, andnever met again; but I was told that he wasmuch distressed at my absence, hunted for

me all over the vessel in the mostdisconsolate manner, even venturing into

my cabin; nor was he reconciled to theloss of me when the ship's company parted

in the London docks

Another monkey, of the same species asJack, was trained by a man in Paris toperform a multitude of clever tricks I methim one day suddenly as he was coming

up the drawing-room stairs He made wayfor me by standing in an angle, and when Isaid, "Good morning," took off his cap,and made me a low bow "Are you goingaway?" I asked; "where is your passport?"Upon which he took from the same cap a

square piece of paper which he opened,and shewed to me His master told him mygown was dusty, and he instantly took asmall brush from his master's pocket,raised the hem of my dress, cleaned it, andthen did the same for my shoes He wasperfectly docile and obedient; when wegave him something to eat, he did not cramhis pouches with it, but delicately andtidily devoured it; and when we bestowedmoney on him, he immediately put it intohis master's hands.

Much more accomplished monkeys thanthose of which I have spoken, have beenknown to act plays, and to assume thecharacters they have undertaken, with aspirit and aptitude which might tempt us tosuppose that they were perfectly cognizant

of every bearing of their different parts;and their stratagems to procure food, anddefend themselves, are only equalled byhuman beings.

Denizens of those mighty forests, whichclothe the earth between the tropics ofboth the Old and New World, assembling

by hundreds in those lands where thePalm, the Banyan, the Baobab, theBombax, and thousands of magnificenttrees adorn the soil; where the mostdelicious fruits are to be procured, bymerely stretching out the hand to separatethem from their parent stem; no wonderthat both apes and monkeys therecongregate, and strike the European, onhis first arrival among them, withastonishment I had seen many at Cape

Coast; but not till I advanced into theforest up the windings of the riverGaboon, could I form any idea of theirmultitude, or of the various habits whichcharacterize their savage lives The firsttime the reality burst upon me, was ingoing up a creek of that river to reach thetown of Nậngo when the most deafeningscreams were to be heard over head,mixed with squeaks and sundry strangenoises These proceeded from red andgrey parrots, which were pursued to thetops of the tallest trees by the monkeys.The birds were not frightened; on thecontrary, they appeared to enjoy the fun,and perching on slight twigs, which wouldnot bear the weight of their playfellows,they stretched out their wings, and seemedvociferously to exclaim, "You can't catch

me!" Sometimes, however, they were

surprised, and then there was such ascuffle and noise The four-handed beast,however, plucked the red feathers fromthe tail of the bird; and careless of itsanger, seated himself on a branch, suckingthe quills till they were dry, when hestarted for a fresh supply

That monkeys enjoy movement, that theydelight in pilfering, in outwitting eachother and their higher brethren—men; thatthey glory in tearing and destroying theworks of art by which they are surrounded

in a domestic state; that they lay the mostartful plans to effect their purposes, is all

perfectly true; but the terms mirthful and merry, seem to me to be totally

misapplied, in reference to their feelings

and actions; for they do all in solemnityand seriousness Do you stand under atree, whose thick foliage completelyscreens you from the sun, and you hope toenjoy perfect shade and repose; a slightrustling proves that companions are near;presently a broken twig drops upon you,then another, you raise your eyes, and findthat hundreds of other eyes are staring atyou In another minute you see thegrotesque faces to which those eyesbelong, making grimaces, as you suppose,but it is no such thing, they are solemnlycontemplating the intruder; they are notpelting him in play, it is their business todrive him from their domain Raise yourarm, the boughs shake, the chatteringbegins, and the sooner you decamp; themore you will shew your discretion.

Watch the ape or monkey with which youcome into closer contact; does he pick up

a blade of grass, he will examine it with

as much attention as if he weredetermining the value of a precious stone

Do you put food before him, he tucks itinto his mouth as fast as possible, andwhen his cheek pouches are so full thatthey cannot hold any more, he looks at you

as if he seriously asked your approval ofhis laying up stores for the future If hedestroy the most valuable piece of glass

or china in your possession, he does notlook as if he enjoyed the mischief, buteither puts on an impudent air, as much as

to say, "I don't care," or calmly tries to letyou know he thought it his duty to destroyyour property Savage, violent and noisyare they when irritated or disappointed,

and long do they retain the recollection of

an affront I once annoyed a monkey in thecollection of the Jardin des Plantes, inParis, by preventing him from purloiningthe food of one of his companions; indoing which I gave him a knock upon hispaws It was lucky that strong wires werebetween us, or he would probably havehurt me severely in his rage; he shook thecage, he rolled about and screamed, anddid not forget the offence On futureoccasions, the instant he heard my voice,

he put himself into a passion: and severalmonths after, although I had been absentthe whole time, he seized on my gownwhile I incautiously stood too near to him,dragged a portion of it within the bars, andbit a great piece out of it, although it wasmade of a very strong material

A monkey, of I know not what species,was domiciled in a family in Yorkshire towhom my mother was paying a visit ofsome days A large dinner-party wasgiven in honor of the guest, the master ofthe house helped the soup; but as he wastalking at the time, he did not observe itsappearance Presently all to whom it hadbeen served, laid down their spoons, orsent their plates away This of courseattracted attention, and on inspection, theliquid was discovered to be full of shorthairs The servants in attendance werequestioned, but they declared they wereignorant of the cause; and the wisest andpolitest proceeding was, to send the tureenfrom the table, and, serving the fish, make

no further comment The mistress of thefamily, however, when the ladies left the

dining-room, slipped away from herfriends, and summoning the cook to herpresence, received an explanation of themystery The woman said, she had left thekitchen only for one minute, and when shereturned, she saw the monkey standing onthe hob of the kitchen grate, with one fore-paw resting on the lid of the boiler whichcontained the soup "Oh, Mr Curiosity,"she exclaimed, "that is too much for you,you can't lift that up." To her horror and

amazement, however, he had lifted it up,

and was putting it on again after poppingthe kitten in, whose remains werediscovered at the bottom when the soupwas strained The poor cook was sobewildered, that she did not know what todo: it was time for the dinner to be served,and she, therefore, for the look's sake,

thought it best to send the soup in as itwas, even if it were sent out againimmediately, "because you know ma'am,"said she, "that would prove you hadordered it I always thought the monkeywould do the kitten a mischief, he was sojealous of it, and hated it so because itscratched him, so he seized it whenasleep."

A much better disposed monkey belonged

to my eldest daughter; and we brought him

to England from the Gambia He seemed

to know that he could master the child, anddid not hesitate to bite and scratch herwhenever she pulled him a little harderthan he thought proper I punished him foreach offence, yet fed and caressed himwhen good; by which means I possessed