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188
The Speech of Monkeys
·
R. L. Garner
32
A
short
time
ago
I
borrowed
from
a
dealer
in
Washington
a
little
Capuchin
called
Puck,
and
had
him
sent
to
my
apartments,
where
I
kept
a
phonograph.
I
placed
the
cage
in
front
of
the
machine
upon
which
I
had
adjusted
the
horn,
and
had
placed
the
record
of
my
little
friend
Pedro.
I
concealed
myself
in
an
adjoining
room,
where
I
could
watch
the
conduct
of
my
subject
through
a
small
hole
in
the
door.
I
had
a
string
attached
to
the
lever
of
the
machine
and
drawn
taut
through
another
hole
in
the
door,
so
that
I
could
start
the
machine
at
any
desired
moment,
and
at
the
same
time
avoid
attracting
the
attention
of
the
monkey,
either
by
my
presence
or
by
allowing
him
to
see
anything
move.
After
a
time,
when
everything
was
quiet,
I
set
the
machine
in
motion
and
treated
him
to
a
phonographic
recital
by
little
Pedro.
This
speech
was
distinctly
delivered
through
the
horn
to
Puck,
from
whose
actions
it
was
evident
that
he
recognised
it
as
the
voice
of
one
of
his
tribe.
He
looked
at
the
horn
in
surprise
and
made
a
sound
or
two,
glanced
around
the
room
and
again
uttered
a
couple
of
sounds
as
he
retired
from
the
horn,
apparently
somewhat
afraid.
Again
the
horn
delivered
some
exclamations
in
a
pure
Capuchin
dialect,
which
Puck
seemed
to
regard
as
sounds
of
some
importance.
He
cautiously
advanced
and
made
a
feeble
response,
but
a
quick,
sharp
sound
from
the
horn
seemed
to
startle
him,
and
failing
to
find
any
trace
of
a
monkey,
except
the
sound
of
a
voice,
he
looked
at
the
horn
with
evident
suspicion,
and
scarcely
ventured
to
answer
any
sound
it
made.
When
I
had
delivered
to
him
the
contents
of
the
record
I
entered
the
room
again,
and
this
seemed
to
afford
him
some
relief.
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