Meeting with Nellie--Nellie was my Guest--Her Speech and
Manners--The little Blind Girl--One of Nellie's Friends--Her
Sight and Hearing--Her Toys, and how she Played with them.
One of the most intelligent of all the brown Capuchins that I have ever
seen was Nellie, who belonged to a dealer in Washington. When she
arrived there, I was invited to call and see her. I introduced myself in
my usual way, by giving her the sound for food, to which she promptly
replied. She was rather informal, and we were soon engaged in a chat on
that subject, the one above all others that would interest a monkey. On
my second visit she was like an old acquaintance, and we had a fine
time. On my third visit she allowed me to put my hands into her cage,
and handle her with impunity. On my next visit I took her out of the
cage, and we had a real romp. This continued for some days, during which
time she would answer me on all occasions when I used the word for food
or drink. She had grown quite fond of me, and always recognised me as I
entered the door. [Sidenote: NELLIE AND THE BLIND GIRL] About this time
there came to Washington a little girl who was deaf, dumb, and blind;
she was accompanied by her teacher, who acted as her interpreter. One of
the greatest desires of this little girl's life was to see a live
monkey--that is, to see it with her fingers. The dealer who owned the
monkey sent for me to come down and show it to her, as I could handle
the monkey for her. I took Nellie from the cage, and when any one except
myself would put hands upon her she would growl and scold and show her
temper; and when the little blind girl first attempted to put her hands
on her, Nellie did not like it at all. I stroked the child's hair and
cheeks with my own hand first, and then with Nellie's; she looked up at
me in an inquiring manner, and uttered one of those soft, flute-like
sounds a few times, and then began to pull at the cheeks and ears of the
child. Within a few moments they were like old friends and playmates,
and for nearly an hour they afforded each other great pleasure, at the
end of which time they separated with reluctance. The little Simian
acted as if she was conscious of the sad affliction of the child, but
seemed at perfect ease with her, although she would decline the
tenderest approach of others. She would look at the child's eyes, which
were not disfigured, but lacked expression, and then look up at me as if
to indicate that she was aware that the child was blind, and the little
girl appeared not to be aware that monkeys could bite at all. It was a
beautiful and touching scene, and one in which the lamp of instinct shed
its feeble light on all around.
On the following day, by an accident in which I really had no part,
except that of being present, Nellie escaped from her cage, and climbed
up on a shelf occupied by some bird-cages. As she attempted to climb up,
of course the light wicker cages with their little yellow occupants fell
to the floor by the dozen. I tried to induce her to return or to come to
me, but the falling cages, the cry of the birds, the talking of parrots,
and the scream of other monkeys, frightened poor Nellie almost out of
her wits. Thinking that I was the cause of her trouble, because I was
present, she would scream with fright at my approach. She was not an
exception to that general rule which governs monkeydom, which is to
suspect every one of doing wrong except itself.
I had her removed to my apartment, where I supplied her with bells and
toys, and fed her on the fat of the land; and by this means we slowly
knitted together the broken bones of our friendship once more. But when
once a monkey has grown suspicious of you they never recover entirely
from it, it seems, for in every act thereafter, however slight, you can
readily see that they suspect you of it; but with great care and caution
you can make them almost forget the trouble. While I kept Nellie at my
rooms I made some good records of her speech on the phonograph, and
studied her with special care; but as the province of this work is the
speech of that little race, I must forego the pleasure of telling some
intensely funny things with which she entertained me, excepting so far
as they are relevant to speech.
[Sidenote: NELLIE'S FONDNESS FOR A LITTLE BOY]
A frequent and welcome visitor to my study was a bright little boy,
about six years old, for whom Nellie entertained a great fondness, as
she also did for my wife. At the sight of the boy Nellie would go into
perfect raptures, and when he would leave her, she would call him so
earnestly and whine so pitifully that one could not refrain from
sympathy. On his return she would laugh audibly, and give every sign of
extreme joy. She never tired of his company, nor gave any part of her
attention to others when he was present. Some children living next door
always found great delight in calling to see Nellie, and she always
showed her pleasure at their visits. On these occasions, Nellie made it
a point to entertain them, and always showed herself to the best
advantage. When I wished to make a good record of her sounds, and
especially of her laughter, I always brought the little boy to my aid.
The boy would conceal himself in the room, and after Nellie had called
him a few times he would jump out from his place of concealment and
surprise her, whereupon she would laugh till she could be heard through
the whole house; and in this manner I secured some of the best records I
have ever made of the laughter of any monkey. When the boy would conceal
himself again, I secured the peculiar sound with which she would try to
attract his attention. The sound which she used in calling him or my
wife was unlike that which she made for any other purpose; and while it
is difficult to say whether the grammatical value of this sound is that
of a noun or of a verb, it is evident that it was used for the special
purpose of calling or attracting attention. If its value is that of a
noun, it has not, in my opinion, any specific character, but a term
which would be applied alike to boys, monkeys, horses, birds, or any
other thing which she might desire to call. If in its nature it is a
verb, it is equivalent to the name of the act, and combines the force of
the imperative and infinitive moods.
[Sidenote: EMOTIONS OF MAN AND SIMIAN]
The uniform expression of the emotions of man and Simian is such as to
suggest that, if thought was developed from emotion and speech was
developed from thought, that the expressions of emotion were the
rudiments from which speech is developed.
A striking point of resemblance between human speech and that of the
Simian is found in a word which Nellie used to warn me of approaching
danger. It is not that sound which I have elsewhere described as the
alarm-sound, and which is used only in case of imminent and awful
danger; but this sound is used in case of remote danger or in announcing
something unusual. As nearly as I can represent the sound by letters, it
would be "e-c-g-k," and with this word I have been warned by these
little friends many times since I first heard it from Nellie.
[Sidenote: NELLIE'S ACTIONS ALMOST HUMAN]
In the following experiment this sound was used with great effect.
Nellie's cage occupied a place in my study near my desk. She would stay
awake at night as long as the light was kept burning, and as I have
always kept late hours, I did not violate the rule of my life in order
to give her a good night's rest. About two o'clock one morning, when I
was about to retire, I found Nellie wide awake. I drew my chair up to
her cage, and sat watching her pranks as she tried to entertain me with
bells and toys. I tied a long thread to a glove, which I placed in a
corner of the room at a distance of several feet from me, but without
letting her see it. I held one end of the string in my hand, I drew the
glove obliquely across the floor towards the cage. When I first
tightened the string, which I had drawn across one knee and under the
other, the glove moved very slightly, and this her quick eye caught at
the very first motion. Standing almost on tip-toe, her mouth half open,
she would peep cautiously at the glove, and then in a low whisper would
say "e-c-g-k"! And every second or so would repeat it, at the same time
watching me, to see whether I was aware of the approach of this goblin.
Her actions were almost human, while her movements were as stealthy as
those of a cat. As the glove came closer and closer she became more and
more demonstrative, and when at last she saw the monster climbing up the
leg of my trousers, she uttered the sound aloud and very rapidly, and
tried to get to the object, which she evidently thought was some living
thing. She detected the thread with which I drew the glove across the
floor, but seemed in doubt as to what part it played in this act. I saw
her eyes several times follow the thread from my knee to the glove, but
I do not think she discovered what caused the glove to move. Having done
this for a few times, however, with about the same result each time, I
relieved her anxiety and fright by allowing her to examine the glove,
which she did with marked interest for a moment and then turned away. I
tried the same thing over again, but failed to elicit from her the
slightest interest after she had examined the glove.
[Sidenote: SOUND OF WARNING]
It will be observed that when Nellie first discovered the glove moving
on the floor, as she attempted to call my attention in a low whisper,
and as the object approached me she became more earnest, and uttered the
sound somewhat louder, and when she discovered the monster, as she
regarded it, climbing up my leg, she uttered her warning in a loud
voice, not a scream or a yell, but in a tone sufficiently loud for the
distance over which the warning was conveyed. The fact of her whispering
indicates that her idea of sound was well defined; her purpose was to
warn me of the approaching danger without alarming the object against
which her warning was intended to prepare me; and as the danger
approached me, her warning became more urgent, and when she saw the
danger was at hand her warning was no longer concealed or restrained.
Another sound which these little creatures use in a somewhat similar
manner, is a word which may be represented by the letters "c-h-i." The
"c-h" is guttural like the final "ch" in German, and "i" short like the
sound of "i" in hit. This sound is used to give warning of the approach
of something which the monkey does not fear, such as approaching
footsteps or the sound of voices; and this sound Nellie always used to
warn my wife of my approach when I was coming up the stairway. The rooms
which I occupied while I kept Nellie were located on the second floor,
and the dining-room was on the ground-floor; and hence there were two
flights of stairs between, both of which were carpeted. So acute was
her sense of hearing, that she would detect my footsteps on the lower
stairway, and warn my wife of my approach. She manifested no interest,
as a rule, in the sounds made by other persons passing up and down the
stairway, which indicated that she not only heard the sounds of my
footsteps but recognised them. The first intimation she would give of my
coming was always in a whisper. She would first make the sound "c-h-i,"
and then she would stop and listen. She would repeat the sound and
listen again, and as I would approach the door in the hall she would
lift her voice to its natural pitch, and utter this sound three or four
times in quick succession; and when I turned the door-knob she would
show some excitement, and when I entered the room she would always
express her satisfaction with a little chuckle. This sound she did not
use except to announce something of which she was not afraid, but when
she apprehended danger from the cause of the sound, she would use the
word "e-c-g-k," and when greatly alarmed she would use the sound which I
have described in the former chapter as that of intense alarm or
assault.
[Sidenote: MONKEYS DO NOT TALK WHEN ALONE]
Nellie was an affectionate little creature, and could not bear to be
left alone, even when supplied with toys and everything she wanted to
eat. When she would see me put on my overcoat, or get my hat and cane,
she knew what it meant; and when she would see my wife, to whom she was
much devoted, put on her cloak and bonnet, she at once foresaw that she
would be left alone. Then she would plead and beg and chatter, until she
sometimes dissuaded my wife, and she seemed aware that she had
accomplished her purpose. I have watched her by the hour, through a
small hole in the door, and when quite alone she would play with her
toys in perfect silence, and sometimes for hours together she would not
utter a single word. She was not an exception to the rule which I have
mentioned heretofore, that monkeys do not talk when alone, or when it is
not necessary to their comfort or pleasure; and while I am aware that
their speech is far inferior to human speech, yet in it there is an
eloquence that soothes, and a meaning that appeals to the human heart.