Meeting with Nellie--Nellie was my Guest--Her Speech and
Manners--Helen Keller and Nellie--One of Nellie’s Friends--Her Sight
and Hearing--Her Toys and how She Played with Them
One of the most intelligent of my brown Capuchin friends was little
Nellie. When she arrived in Washington, I was invited to visit her. I
introduced myself by speaking to her the sound of food. To that she
promptly replied. She was rather informal, and we were soon engaged
in a chat on that subject--the one that above all others interests a
monkey. On my second visit she acted like an old acquaintance, and we
had a fine time. On a later visit she allowed me to put my hands into
her cage to handle and caress her. On another visit I took her out of
the cage and we had a real jolly romp. This continued for some days,
during which time she answered me when I gave the word for food or
drink. She had grown quite fond of me, and always recognized me when I
entered the door.
About this time there came to Washington a little girl who was deaf,
dumb, and blind. It was little Helen Keller. She was accompanied by
her teacher, who acted as her interpreter. A great desire of Helen’s
life was to see a live monkey--that is, to see one with her fingers.
The owner sent for me to come and show one to her. When any one except
myself had put hands upon Nellie, she had growled and scolded and
showed temper. I took her from the cage. When the little blind girl
first put her hands on Nellie, the shy little monkey did not like it.
I stroked the child’s hair and cheeks with my own hand and then with
Nellie’s. She looked up at me and uttered one of those soft, flute-like
sounds. Then she began to pull at the cheeks and ears of the child.
Within a few minutes they were like old friends and playmates, and for
nearly an hour they afforded each other great pleasure. At the end of
that time they separated with reluctance. The little simian acted as
if conscious of the sad affliction of the child, but seemed at perfect
ease with her. She would decline the tenderest approach of others. She
looked at the child’s eyes, and then at me, as if to indicate that
she was aware that the child was blind. The little girl appeared not
to be aware that monkeys could bite. It was a beautiful and touching
scene, and one in which the lamp of instinct shed its feeble light on
all around. Helen has now grown into womanhood. I recently paid her a
visit, and she assured me that she still pleasantly remembered this
dear little monkey friend.
One day Nellie escaped from her cage and climbed upon a shelf occupied
by some bird cages. As she climbed over the light wicker cages, some of
them, with their little yellow occupants, fell to the floor. I tried
to induce Nellie to return to me; but the falling cages, the cry of
the birds, the screeching of the parrots, and the vociferous chatter
of other monkeys frightened poor Nellie almost out of her wits. She,
thinking I was the cause of all this trouble, because I was present,
screamed with fright at my approach. Such is the rule that governs
monkeydom. Monkeys suspect every one of doing wrong except themselves.
I had her removed to my apartments. She was supplied with bells and
toys, and was fed on the fat of the land. By this means we finally
knitted together again the broken bones of our friendship. When once a
monkey has grown suspicious of you, it seldom entirely recovers from
aversion. In every act thereafter you are suspected of mischief. I made
some good records of the speech of this amiable monkey and studied them
with special care.
A frequent and welcome visitor to my study was a little boy about six
years old. For him Nellie entertained great fondness. At the sight of
the boy, Nellie went into perfect raptures, and when leaving him she
called him so earnestly and whined 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 attention to others while he was present. Some children next door
found great delight in calling to see Nellie, and she always evinced
great pleasure at their visits. On these occasions she consciously
entertained them and showed herself to the best advantage. In order
to make a good record of her sounds, and especially of her laughter,
I 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 and surprise her. This would cause her to laugh till she could be
heard throughout the whole house. In this manner I secured some of the
best records I have ever made of the laughter of monkeys. When the boy
concealed himself again, I secured the peculiar sound which she used
when trying to attract his attention.
Nellie had spent much of her life in captivity, and had been used to
the society of children. She rarely ever betrayed any aversion to them.
She delighted to pat their cheeks, pull their ears, and tangle their
hair. She took great pleasure in cleaning one’s finger-nails. She did
this with the skill of a manicure. She found pleasure in picking the
shreds, ravelings, or specks from one’s clothing. She was not selfish
in selecting her friends. She was influenced neither by age nor by
beauty.
To be out of her cage and supplied with toys was all she demanded to
make her happy. I have sometimes thought she preferred such a life to
the freedom of her Amazon forests. It is to be regretted that monkeys
are so destructive that one dare not turn them loose in a room where
there is anything that can be torn or broken. They enjoy such mischief.
Nellie often begged me so piteously to be taken from her little iron
prison that I could not refuse her request, even at the cost of much
trouble in preparing the room for her.
As we retain these little captives against their will and treat them
worse than slaves by keeping them in close confinement, we should at
least try to amuse them. It is true that they do not have to toil;
but it would be more humane to make them work in the open air than to
confine them so closely and deprive them of every means of pleasure.
As an act of humanity and simple justice, I would impress upon those
who have the charge of these little pets the importance of keeping
them supplied with toys. In this respect they are just like children.
For a trifle one can furnish them with such toys as they need. It is
absolutely cruel to keep these little creatures confined in solitude
and deny them the simple pleasure they find in playing with a bell, a
ball, or a few marbles. A trifling outlay in this way will very much
prolong their lives. Monkeys are always happy if they have plenty to
eat and something to play with. I recall no investment of mine which
ever yielded a greater return in pleasure than one little pocket
match-safe, costing twenty-five cents, which one evening I gave to
Nellie to play with. I had put into it a small key to make it rattle,
and also some bits of candy. She rattled the box and found much
pleasure in the noise it made. I showed her how to press the spring in
order to open the box; but her little black fingers were not strong
enough to release the spring and make the lid fly open. However, she
caught the idea and knew that the spring was the secret which held the
box closed. When she found that she could not open it with her fingers,
she tried it with her teeth. Failing in this, she turned to the wall,
and standing upright on the top of her cage, she took the box in both
hands and struck the spring against the wall until the lid flew open.
She was perfectly delighted at the result, and for the hundredth time,
at least, I closed the box for her to open it again. On the following
day some friends came in to visit her. I gave her the match-safe to
open. On this occasion she was in her cage, and through its meshes she
could not reach the wall. She had nothing against which to strike the
spring to force it open. After looking around her and striking the
box a few times against the wires of her cage, she discovered a block
of wood about six inches square. She took this and mounted her perch.
Balancing the block on the perch, she held it with the left foot, while
with the right foot she held to the perch. With her tail wound around
the meshes of the cage to steady herself, she carefully adjusted the
match-box in such a manner as to protect her fingers from the blow.
Then she struck the spring against the block of wood and the lid flew
open. She fairly screamed with delight and held up the box with pride.
The lid was again closed in order that she might open it.
The late hours which I kept were beginning to tell on Nellie, and from
time to time during the day I caught her taking a nap. I determined to
use some curtains to avoid disturbing her rest. Drawing them around
the cage, I lapped them over and pinned them down in front. Then I
turned down the light and kept quiet for a little while to allow her
to go to sleep. After the lapse of a few minutes I quietly turned up
the light and resumed writing. In an instant the curtains rustled.
Looking around, I saw her little brown eyes peeping through the folds
of the curtains, which she gracefully held apart with her little black
hands. When she saw what had caused the disturbance she chattered in
her soft, rich tones, and tried to pull the curtains farther apart. I
arranged them so she could not look around the room. To see her holding
the curtains apart in that coquettish manner, turning her head from
side to side, peeping and smiling at me and talking in such low sweet
tones, was like a real flirtation. One who has not witnessed such a
scene cannot fully appreciate it. Only those who have experienced the
warm and unselfish friendship of these little creatures can realize how
strong the attachment becomes. The love of these little creatures is
proof against gossip, and their tongues are free from it.
Among the many captives of the simian race who spend their lives in
iron prisons, adding to the wealth and gratifying the cruelty of
man,--not to expiate any crime,--I have many little friends. I am
attached to them. So far as I can see, their devotion to me is as warm
and sincere as that of any human being. I must confess that I am too
obtuse to discern in what way the love they have for me differs from my
own for them. I cannot see in what respect their love is less sublime
than human love. I cannot discern in what respect the affection of a
dog for a kind master differs from that of a child for a kind parent. I
fail to see in what respect the sense of fear of a cruel master differs
from that of the child toward a cruel parent. It is mere sentiment
that ascribes to the passion of a child a higher source than the same
passion in the dog or the monkey. The dog could have loved or feared
another master just as well. Filial love or fear reaches out its
tendrils just as far when all the ties of kindred blood are removed.
It has been said that for one we are able to assign a reason _why_,
while the other feeling is a mere impulse. I am too dull to understand
how reason actuates to love, and instinct to mere attachment. I do not
believe that in the intrinsic nature of these passions there is any
essential difference. Whether it be reason or instinct in man, the
affections of the lower animals are actuated by the same motives,
governed by the same conditions, and guided by the same reasons as
those of man. I shall long remember some of my monkey friends, and I
feel sure that, far away in the silent niches of their memory, some of
them have my image enshrined. Sometimes after long months of absence I
see them again. They always recognize me at sight and often scream with
pleasure at my return.