Kitabı oku: «The Speech of Monkeys», sayfa 5
CHAPTER IX
Affections – A little Flirtation – Some of my personal Friends.
Nellie had spent much of her life in captivity and had been used to the society of children, for whom she showed the greatest fondness, and rarely ever betrayed the slightest aversion to any of them. She delighted to pat their cheeks, pull their ears, and tangle their hair. One of her favourite pastimes was to pull the hairpins out of my wife's hair so that she could get hold of it the better to play with, and my wife has often remarked that Nellie would make an excellent lady's-maid. She would clean one's finger-nails with the skill of a manicure. She would pick every shred, ravelling, or speck from one's clothing. Her aversions and attachments were equally strong. She was not selfish in selecting her friends, nor did she seem to be influenced by age or beauty.
MONKEYS SHOULD HAVE TOYS
To let her out of her cage and give her something to play with was happiness enough for her, and I almost think she preferred such a life to the freedom of her Amazon forests. But you cannot afford to turn one out of the cage in a room where there is anything that can be torn or broken, as they enjoy such mischief in the highest degree. Nellie would beg me so piteously to be taken from her little iron prison that I could not have the cruelty to refuse her, even at the cost of some trouble in preparing the room for her; and as we retain these little captives against their will, and treat them worse than slaves by keeping them in close confinement, I think we should at least try to amuse them. It is true they do not have to toil, but I think it would be more humane to make them work in the open air than to confine them so closely, and then deprive them of every source of pleasure. As an act of humanity and simple justice, I would impress upon those who keep such little pets how important a thing it is to keep them supplied with toys. They are just like children in this respect, and for a trifle one can furnish them with all the toys they need. It is cruel, absolutely cruel, to keep these little creatures confined in solitude and deny them the simple pleasure they find in playing with a bell, ball or marbles; and besides this, a trifling outlay in this way will very much prolong their lives. A monkey is always happy if he has something to play with and plenty to eat. NELLIE WITH THE MATCH-BOX I do not know of any investment of mine which ever yielded such a great return in pleasure as one little pocket match-safe which cost me twenty-five cents, and which I gave to Nellie one evening 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 some pleasure in the noise it made. I showed her a few times how to press the spring in order to open it, 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 it; and 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 again. On the following day, when some friends came in to visit her, I gave her the match-box to open again. On this occasion, however, she was in her cage and could not reach the wall through its meshes, and hence had nothing against which to strike the spring to force it open. After looking around her in all directions and striking the box against the wires of her cage a few times, she discovered a block of wood in her cage about six inches square by an inch thick, and this she took and mounted her perch. Balancing the block on the perch she held it with the left foot, while with her right foot she held on to the perch, and with her tail wound through the meshes of her cage to steady herself, she carefully adjusted the match-box in her hands in such a manner as to protect her fingers from the blow. Then striking the spring against the block of wood the lid flew open, and she fairly screamed with delight, and held the box up with pride, wanting me to close the lid again, in order that she might open it.
Finding that the late hours which I kept were beginning to tell on Nellie, and that during the day from time to time I would catch her taking a little nap, I concluded to use some curtains around her cage to avoid disturbing her rest. I drew them around the cage, lapped them over, and pinned them down in front. Then I turned down the light and kept quiet for a while to allow her to go to sleep. After the lapse of a few minutes, I slowly turned up the light and resumed my writing. In an instant I heard the curtains rustle, and looked around, and there I saw her little brown eyes peeping through the folds of the curtains, which she held apart with her little black hands. When she saw what it was that caused all this disturbance, she chattered to me in her soft rich tones, and tried so hard to pull the curtains apart that I removed them from her cage so that she could look around the room. To see her holding the curtains apart in that graceful manner, turning her head from side to side, peeping and smiling at me, and talking in such low tones, was so much like a real flirtation that one who has not seen the like cannot fully appreciate it. And only those who have experienced the warm and unselfish friendship of these little creatures can realise how strong the attachment becomes. When once you enjoy the confidence of a monkey, nothing can shake it, except some act of your own, or one at least which they attribute to you. Their little ears are proof against gossip, and their tongues are free from it.
THE LOVE OF MONKEYS
Among the little captives of the Simian race who spend their lives in iron prisons to gratify the cruelty of man, and not to expiate some crime committed or inherent, I have many little friends to whom I am attached, and whose devotion to me is as warm and sincere, so far as I can see, as that of any human being. I must confess that I cannot discern in what intrinsic way the love they have for me differs from my own for them. I cannot see in what respect their love is less divine than is my own. I cannot see in what respect the affections of a dog for a kind master differ from those of a child for a kind parent, nor can I see in what respect the sense of fear for a cruel master differs from that of a child for a cruel parent. It is mere sentiment that ascribes to those of a child a higher source than the same passions in the dog – the dog could have loved or feared another master just as well; and filial love or fear would have reached out its tendrils just as far with all the ties of kindred blood removed. It has been said that one is able to assign a definite reason why, and that the other is a vague impulse; but I am too obtuse to understand how reason actuates to love, and instinct to a mere attachment. I cannot believe that in the essential and ultimate nature of these passions there can be shown any real 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 not soon forget some of my monkey friends, and I am sure they will not forget me; for I see them sometimes after months of absence, and they usually recognise me at sight and show every sign of pleasure at my return.
CHAPTER X
The Capuchin Vocabulary – What I have Found – What I Foresee in it.
Up to this time I have been able to determine with a fair degree of certainty nine words or sounds belonging to Capuchins, some of which sounds are so inflected as to have two or three different meanings, I think. The sound which I have translated food and found to have a much wider meaning, long perplexed me, because I found it used under so many conditions and had not been able to detect any difference of modulation. I find one form of this sound used for food in general, but when modulated in a certain way seems to specify the kind of food. I observed that this sound seemed to be a salutation or peacemaking term with them, which I attributed to the fact that food was the central thought of every monkey's life, and that consequently that word would naturally be the most important of his whole speech. During the past winter, I found that another modulation of this word expressed a wish to obtain a thing, and appeared to me to be almost equivalent to the verb "give," when used in the imperative mood, something like this, "Give me that." I have succeeded a great number of times, by the use of this word, in inducing McGinty to give me a part of his food, and on many occasions to hand me from his cage a ball, a club, or some such thing that I had given him to play with. Under suitable conditions, I could soon determine to what extent these inflections control their actions, but with the surroundings of a zoological garden the task is very difficult. However, I am quite satisfied that the sound which I have translated food is shaded by them into several kindred meanings.
The word "drink" appears to be more fixed, both in its form and meaning. I have not yet been able to detect any difference in the sound whether water, milk, or other liquids be desired; but this is quite natural, since they have but little variety in the things they drink.
SOUNDS "WEATHER" AND "LOVE"
The sound which I had thought meant "weather," or in some way alluded to the state of the weather, I am not sure how far that may be relied upon as a separate word. It was so closely connected to the speech of discontent or pain when made by little Dago, that I have not been able since to separate the sounds, and I finally abandoned it as a separate word; but reviewing my work, and recalling the peculiar conduct of this monkey and the conditions attending it, I believe it is safe to say that he had in mind the state of the weather.
The sound which I have translated "love" is only in the sense of firm and ardent friendship. The expressions of love between sexes I have not been able as yet to find with certainty. A few sounds, however, made under certain conditions, I have reason to believe bear upon this subject, but I am not yet ready to announce my opinions thereon.
The "alarm" sound, as I have translated it, has been described; but among the Capuchins I find three kindred words, quite unlike as mere sounds, but closely allied in meaning. The one just mentioned is used under the stress of great fear, or in case of assault. It is a shrill, piercing sound, very loud and very high in pitch. The second word, "e-c-g-k," used only to express apprehension, or as a warning of the approach of a thing they fear or do not like; and the last of these, which is a guttural whisper, is used merely to call attention to the approach of something which the monkey does not fear or dislike, which I have spelt "c-h-i."
I have referred elsewhere, without describing it, to the sound which Nellie used for calling, and which she employed when attempting to dissuade my wife from going out and leaving her alone. It is a peculiar sound, something like a whine, but very plaintive and suggestive. I cannot represent it in letters.
THE CAPUCHIN TONGUE
There are many sounds about which I am yet in doubt, and some shades of meaning are not clear, but these sounds described include the greater part of my knowledge of the Capuchin tongue, and I shall now proceed to the sounds of some of the other monkeys.
Standing on this frail bridge of speech, I see into that broad field of life and thought which lies beyond the confines of our care, and into which, through the gates that I have now unlocked, may soon be borne the sunshine of human intellect. What prophet now can foretell the relations which may yet obtain between the human race and those inferior forms which fill some place in the design, and execute some function in the economy of nature?
A knowledge of their language cannot injure man, and may conduce to the good of others, because it would lessen man's selfishness, widen his mercy, and restrain his cruelty. It would not place man more remote from his divinity, nor change the state of facts which now exist. Their speech is the only gateway to their minds, and through it we must pass if we would learn their secret thoughts and measure the distance from mind to mind.
CHAPTER XI
The Word for Food in the Rhesus Dialect – The Rhesus Sound of Alarm – The Dialect of the White-face – Dolly Varden, "Uncle Remus," and others.
From a number of sounds uttered by the Rhesus monkeys, I finally selected the word which, for many reasons, I believed meant food, and was the equivalent in meaning to that word in the Capuchin tongue. The phonetic character of the words differs very widely. The sound uttered by the Rhesus, as nearly as I can represent it by letters, is "nqu-u-w." The "u" sound is about the same as in the Capuchin word, but on close examination with the phonograph it appears to be uttered in five syllables very slightly separated, while the ear only detects two.
One of the most unique of my experiments I made in Central Park, in the autumn of 1891. I secured a very fine phonograph record of the food sound of the Rhesus monkeys belonging to the Park. During the following night there arrived at the Park a shipment of Rhesus monkeys, just from their home in the east of Asia. There were seven of these new monkeys, three adult females and four babies, one of whom was left an orphan by the death of its mother in her passage across the ocean. At my request the superintendent had these monkeys stored in the vacant room in the upper story of the Old Armoury building. They had never seen the monkeys in Central Park, nor had they ever been brought near enough to the monkey-house for them to learn by any means that any other monkeys were about. About sunrise I repaired to this room, where I had my phonograph placed in order, and I enjoined those who were present, by special permission, not to do anything to attract the attention of the monkeys, nor under any condition to show them any food or anything to drink. Having arranged my phonograph, I delivered to them the sounds contained on my cylinder which I had recorded on the day preceding. Up to this time not a sound had been uttered by any inmate of the shipping cage. The instant my phonograph began to reproduce the record, the seven new monkeys began to answer vociferously. After having delivered this record to them, I gave them time to become quiet again. I showed them some carrots and apples, on seeing which they began to utter the same sounds which they had uttered before, and this time I secured a good record of their sounds to compare with the others.
RHESUS MONKEYS
The alarm-sound as given by the Rhesus is very energetic, but not so shrill nor sharp as that of the Capuchin, nor have I discovered more than one such sound. As they are not of a high order of intelligence, nor kindly disposed unless kept in fear, I have not given them a great amount of study, but their sounds come more closely to the range of the human voice than do the sounds of the Cebus, which I regard as the Caucasian of monkeys.
The Rhesus is not very intelligent, but when reared in captivity appears to be capable of some degree of domestication. The adult reared in a wild state shows many phases of vicious and uncongenial temper. When well cared for, they are rather hardy and undergo training quite well. They are not a handsome animal, being of a faded tan colour on the back, merged into a yellowish white on the less exposed parts. They have large cheek-pouches which, when not filled with food, allow the skin on the neck and jaws to hang in folds, which give them an appearance of extreme emaciation, and when full of food they are so distended as to present rather an unpleasant aspect.
The sounds which the Rhesus utters in anger are harsh and unmusical, while their sound for food is soft and sympathetic, and I have made a machine which imitates it quite well. The Rhesus belong to the genus Macacus, one of the oldest and largest of all Simian genera.
I have found the word in the dialect of the white-faced Cebus which corresponds in value to those sounds described in the dialects of the Capuchin and Rhesus monkeys meaning food, but I cannot give the faintest idea of the sound by any combination of letters, nor have I as yet devised any means by which I can imitate it. I recorded this sound on the phonograph more than a year ago, but only within the last few months have been able to tell its meaning.
SOUND OF DANGER
Another sound which is made by this species to express apprehension of remote danger, such as an approaching footstep or some unusual sound, I have also learned. It is very much the same phonetically as that sound which he utters in case of great and sudden alarm, but uttered with much less energy. It resembles slightly the alarm-sound of the Capuchin, but up to this time I have not been able to make a good record of it.
Another sound which is peculiar to this species I think is used as a kind of salutation or expression of friendship, which phonetically is quite unlike the corresponding sound in any other dialect that I have studied.
I must mention Dolly Varden, who belongs to this species, and with whom I was at one time on very warm terms of friendship. Dolly was very fond of me, and would laugh and play with me by the hour. Her laughter was very human-like, except that it was silent, and in all our play during the lapse of some weeks she never uttered a sound, not even so much as a growl, although I tried by every possible means to induce her to talk. It has occurred to me since that time that she may have been deaf and dumb, but I did not think of testing her on these points while I had an opportunity. It is not usual for monkeys to laugh in silence, although they frequently laugh aloud like human beings; but it is not a common thing for them to remain silent at all times and under all conditions. Dolly was good-natured, playful, and always showed every sign of pleasure at my visits.
"UNCLE REMUS"
In Central Park there is a monkey of this species which I call "Uncle Remus." He is quite fond of me, and, for my amusement, he always wants to whip a little baby monk in the same cage with him whenever I go to visit them. This species belongs to the same genus as the Capuchin, but they differ in mental calibre as widely as the Caucasian differs from the Negro; but in this case the colours are reversed. I have seen a few fairly intelligent white-faces and a great many very stupid Capuchins, but, to strike an average from a great number of each kind, they will be found very widely separated in brain power.
The white-faced Cebus always has a languid expression, and looks like some poor, decrepit old man, who has borne a great burden of care through a long life, and finds his toil and patience ill-requited and is now awaiting his last call. He always has a sad face, and looks as if his friends were false. His type of speech is very far inferior to that of the Capuchin, and I do not regard him as a good subject for my work.
JIM AND THE MANGABY
I have learned the food sound in the dialect of the sooty Mangaby, but I have not been able to record it sufficiently well to study; but it is one of the most peculiar sounds in the whole range of Simian speech. The phonetic elements are nearly like "wuh-uh-uh," but the manner in which it is delivered is very singular. It appears to be intermixed with a peculiar clucking sound, and each sound seems independent of the other, although so closely joined in their utterance as to sound almost like they were uttered simultaneously by separate means. It is a deep guttural, below the middle pitch of the human voice, while the clucking element appears much higher in pitch, and the whole sound is marked with a strong tremolo effect. The syllables are uttered in rapid succession, and this peculiar sound under different conditions is uttered in at least three different degrees of pitch about an octave apart, but the contour appears to me the same in each. This species talks but little, is very shy, makes few friends, and is afraid of the phonograph; hence I have never been able to make a good record of its voice. I was cultivating the friendship of Jim, who recently died in Central Park, and we were getting on the best of terms; but the little Mangaby that survives him is very shy and suspicious. Immediately after Jim's death, however, when I would visit the Garden, she would always jump on the perch and take the same position that Jim had occupied whenever I would feed him. During his lifetime, she always kept her distance and never would take anything out of my hand, because she was afraid of him; but as soon as he was out of the way she assumed his place, and would utter the same sound that he had uttered at my approach. She evidently was aware of the fact that Jim and I were friends, that I always gave him something good to eat at that particular place in the cage, and that he always sat in a certain position when I gave it to him. I do not regard this species as very intelligent, nor their language as being of a high type; but they have a very human-like face, almost without hair, and very large and expressive eyes. They abound in West Africa, and have been colonised with success in the island of Mauritius; they are not very common in captivity, but much more so than some other species of less interest.
