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188
The Speech of Monkeys
·
R. L. Garner
78
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.
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