The world of the great forest

by Paul B. Du Chaillu

A year or more passed away, and in the spring the great show was once more installed in Madison Square Garden, Johanna with it, but with no Ntchiko near her.

It happened that the same Paul was invited by the proprietor of the show to a special morning audience, given to see how Miss Johanna was, and how much she had learned since he had seen her, and was told that he could bring some of his friends with him.

One fine morning, Paul, with two of his dear little chums, Alfred and Elizabeth, together with their mamma and Fräulein, went to Madison Square Garden to make a visit to Miss Johanna by appointment. They descended the stairs leading to the basement and found themselves in the midst of many caged animals, and came after a while in the presence of Johanna.

Great indeed was the change Paul saw in Johanna. She was a docile creature, and loved dearly her new keeper. She had grown a great deal. Her face had become almost entirely black, with here and there a small yellowish patch left. Her complexion was much like that of a chimney-sweeper. The skin of her body had become black and her nails as well.

Her new keeper understood her better than the former one, and knew how to teach her the ways men have; in a word, he was a very intelligent and patient trainer. Perhaps Johanna, who no longer had the vicious Ntchiko for a constant neighbor, had become more gentle on that account. Whatever the cause, she had become a new and wonderful creature. All she had been taught, she had learned by seeing her keeper do it before her, outside of her cage. She imitated him, as children do by looking at their parents.

Soon after our arrival Johanna’s morning toilet began. A wash-basin filled with water was passed under the bars, then a towel and soap. She washed her face, dried it afterward with a towel, and washed her hands and dried them also. Then a tooth-brush was given to her, and she brushed her teeth.

Afterwards a powder-box was handed to her. She powdered her face with the puff, and rubbed her skin with a towel all over her face. She then took a looking-glass to see how she looked.

All these preliminaries of her breakfast seemed mechanical. That is, she was not civilized enough to know what cleanliness was, to know that her face was dirty and needed to be washed, and that a sign of beauty was to have good and clean teeth. But there are many people in this world who do not know as much as this, and are not familiar with tooth-brushes. Johanna appeared to feel better and more lively after her toilet was completed.

Breakfast was then served to her upon a board as a table, passed to her under the bars. Upon the table were put a plate, a glass, half a bottle of wine, a napkin, tooth-picks, a knife and fork. She looked complacently at the preparations for her breakfast, and did not show any signs of impatience. She seemed to know that it was coming when ready. Then chicken sandwiches were served.

She cut her sandwiches with her knife, and ate with a fork, as a civilized person is accustomed to do. Now and then she wiped her mouth with her napkin. While eating, she took the cork from the bottle of port wine, filled her glass properly and generously, not quite to the brim, and drank it in two sips, put the glass on the table, wiped her mouth, and recorked the bottle.