_By Mrs. Bowdich._
An old ship companion of mine was a native of the Gold Coast, and was of
the Diana species. He had been purchased by the cook of the vessel in
which I sailed from Africa, and was considered his exclusive property.
Jack's place then was close to the cabooce; but as his education
progressed, he was gradually allowed an increase of liberty, till at
last he enjoyed the range of the whole ship, except the cabin. I had
embarked with more than a mere womanly aversion to monkeys, it was
absolute antipathy; and although I often laughed at Jack's freaks, still
I kept out of his way, till a circumstance brought with it a closer
acquaintance, and cured me of my dislike. Our latitude was three degrees
south, and we only proceeded by occasional tornadoes, the intervals of
which were filled up by dead calms and bright weather; when these
occurred during the day, the helm was frequently lashed, and all the
watch went below. On one of these occasions I was sitting alone on the
deck, and reading intently, when, in an instant, something jumped upon
my shoulders, twisted its tale round my neck, and screamed close to my
ears. My immediate conviction that it was Jack scarcely relieved me: but
there was no help; I dared not cry for assistance, because I was afraid
of him, and dared not obey the next impulse, which was to thump him off,
for the same reason, I therefore became civil from necessity, and from
that moment Jack and I entered into an alliance. He gradually loosened
his hold, looked at my face, examined my hands and rings with the most
minute attention, and soon found the biscuit which lay by my side. When
I liked him well enough to profit by his friendship, he became a
constant source of amusement. Like all other nautical monkeys, he was
fond of pulling off the men's caps as they slept, and throwing them into
the sea; of knocking over the parrots' cages to drink the water as it
trickled along the deck, regardless of the occasional gripe he received;
of taking the dried herbs out of the tin mugs in which the men were
making tea of them; of dexterously picking out the pieces of biscuit
which were toasting between the bars of the grate; of stealing the
carpenter's tools; in short, of teasing every thing and every body: but
he was also a first-rate _equestrian_. Whenever the pigs were let
out to take a run on deck, he took his station behind a cask, whence he
leaped on the back of one of his steeds as it passed. Of course the
speed was increased, and the nails he stuck in to keep himself on,
produced a squeaking: but Jack was never thrown, and became so fond of
the exercise, that he was obliged to be shut up whenever the pigs were
at liberty. Confinement was the worst punishment he could receive, and
whenever threatened with that, or any other, he would cling to me for
protection. At night, when about to be sent to bed in an empty hencoop,
he generally hid himself under my shawl, and at last never suffered any
one but myself to put him to rest. He was particularly jealous of the
other monkeys on board, who were all smaller than himself, and put two
out of his way. The first feat of the kind was performed in my presence:
he began by holding out his paw, and making a squeaking noise, which the
other evidently considered as an invitation; the poor little thing
crouched to him most humbly; but Jack seized him by the neck, hopped off
to the side of the vessel, and threw him into the sea. We cast out a
rope immediately, but the monkey was too frightened to cling to it, and
we were going too fast to save him by any other means. Of course, Jack
was flogged and scolded, at which he was very penitent; but the
deceitful rogue, at the end of three days, sent another victim to the
same destiny. But his spite against his own race was manifested at
another time in a very original way. The men had been painting the
ship's side with a streak of white, and upon being summoned to dinner,
left their brushes and paint on deck. Unknown to Jack, I was seated
behind the companion door, and saw the whole transaction; he called a
little black monkey to him, who, like the others, immediately crouched
to his superior, when he seized him by the nape of the neck with one
paw, took the brush, dripping with paint, with the other, and covered
him with white from head to foot. Both the man at the helm and myself
burst into a laugh, upon which Jack dropped his victim, and scampered up
the rigging. The unhappy little beast began licking himself, but I
called the steward, who washed him so well with turpentine, that all
injury was prevented; but during our bustle Jack was peeping with his
black nose through the bars of the maintop, apparently enjoying the
confusion. For three days he persisted in remaining aloft; no one could
catch him, he darted with such rapidity from rope to rope; at length,
impelled by hunger, he dropped unexpectedly from some height on my
knees, as if for refuge, and as he had thus confided in me, I could not
deliver him up to punishment.
The only way in which I could control his tricks was by showing him to
the panther on board, which excited his fears very strongly. I used to
hold him up by his tail, and the instant he saw the panther he would
become perfectly stiff, shut his eyes, and pretend to be dead. When I
moved away, he would relax his limbs, and open one eye very cautiously;
but if he caught a glimpse of the panther's cage, the eyes were quickly
closed, and he resumed the rigidity of death. After four months' sojourn
together, I quitted Jack off the Scilly Islands, and understood that I
was very much regretted: he unceasingly watched for me in the morning,
and searched for me in every direction, even venturing into the cabin;
nor was he reconciled to my departure when my servants left the vessel
at Gravesend.--_Mag. Natural History._
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