This interesting story is only one among many. One of them has to do with an instance where the horses of a party of travellers were frightened by monkeys in the trees, some of the horses breaking loose. To stop this one of the party fired at the monkeys with a load of small shot to drive them away. One of the monkeys ran down to the lowest branch of the tree, then stopped, put his paw to the part wounded, and held it out covered with blood for the man to see. The sportsman says: "I was so much hurt at the time that it left an impression never to be effaced and I have never since fired a gun at any of the tribe."
A few minutes later a native came in and said that the monkey was dead. They told him to bring it in, but when he went back he found that the other monkeys had carried off their dead comrade and none of them were to be seen.
Here is a case of the same kind, told by Sir William Hoste, an officer in India. It is of a still more affecting kind. We give it as told by a Mr. Jesse.
"One of his officers, coming home after a long day's shooting, saw a female monkey running along the rocks, with her young one in her arms. He immediately fired and the animal fell. On his coming up, she grasped her little one close to her breast, and with her other hand pointed to the wound which the ball had made, and which had entered above her breast. Dipping her finger in the blood, and then holding it up, she seemed to reproach him with being the cause of her death, and in consequence that of the young one, to which she frequently pointed."
When Sir William was told this affecting story he, as in the other cases cited, resolved never to shoot one of these animals as long as he lived.
Is not all this very human-like? The poor things, knowing that men are stronger than they and carry death-dealing weapons, do all they can to make them sorry for their cruelty and accuse them of murder. If they could talk they could not say more than these monkeys did in dumb show.
Monkeys are very fond of and tender to their young. One writer saw an American monkey driving away the flies that troubled her infant, and another saw a mother monkey washing the faces of her young ones in a stream. When their young die the mothers are very apt to die of grief. This we are told by Darwin, who further says: "Orphan monkeys are always adopted and carefully guarded by the other monkeys, both male and female."
An afternoon chat. Observe the close attention of the monkey and its care of its young
They also take care of those that are hurt. One writer tells us that he kept a number of Gibbons in his garden, living in the trees and coming down to be fed. One of them fell from a tree and sadly hurt its wrist. The others at once paid it great attention, and an old female, who was no relation to the crippled animal, fed it every day before eating any food herself. The writer goes on to say: "I have frequently noticed that a cry of fright, pain, or distress from one would bring all the others at once to the complainer, and they would then condole with him and fold him in their arms."