Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
188
The Speech of Monkeys
·
R. L. Garner
36
The
most
remarkable
case
which
has
come
under
my
observation
is
one
in
which
a
young
white-face
has
acquired
the
sound
which
means
food
in
the
Capuchin
tongue.
This
event
occurred
under
my
own
eyes.
I
regard
this
matter
as
so
noteworthy
and
attended
by
such
conditions
as
to
show
that
the
monkey
had
a
motive
in
learning
the
sound,
that
I
shall
relate
the
case
in
detail.
[Sidenote:
THE
WHITE-FACED
CEBUS]
In
the
room
where
the
monkeys
were
kept
by
a
dealer
in
Washington,
there
was
a
cage
which
contained
a
young
white-faced
Cebus
of
rather
more
than
average
intelligence.
He
was
a
quiet,
sedate,
and
thoughtful
little
monk,
whose
grey
hair
and
beard
gave
him
quite
a
venerable
aspect,
and
for
this
reason
I
called
him
Darwin.
From
some
cause
unknown
to
me
he
was
afraid
of
me,
and
I
showed
him
but
little
attention.
On
the
same
shelf
and
in
an
adjacent
cage
lived
the
little
Capuchin,
Puck.
The
cages
were
only
separated
by
an
open
wire
partition,
through
which
they
could
easily
see
and
hear
each
other.
For
some
weeks
I
visited
Puck
almost
daily,
and
in
response
to
his
sound
for
food
I
always
supplied
him
with
some
nuts,
banana,
or
other
food.
I
never
gave
him
any
of
these
things
to
eat
unless
he
would
ask
me
for
them
in
his
own
speech.
On
one
of
my
visits
my
attention
was
attracted
by
little
Darwin,
who
was
uttering
a
strange
sound
which
I
had
never
before
heard
one
of
his
species
utter.
I
did
not
recognise
the
sound
at
first,
but
very
soon
discovered
that
it
was
intended
to
imitate
the
sound
of
the
Capuchin,
in
response
to
which
I
always
gave
Puck
some
nice
morsel
of
food.
Darwin
had
undoubtedly
observed
that
this
sound
made
by
Puck
was
always
rewarded
with
something
good
to
eat,
and
his
evident
motive
was
to
secure
a
like
reward.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
