Gorillas & Chimpanzees

by R. L. Garner

I cannot forego the belief that these freaks were due to a base and perverse nature, and I could find no higher motive in her stubborn conduct.

Aaron was very fond of her, and rarely ever opposed her inflexible will. He clung to her, and let her lead the way. I have often felt vexed at him because he complied so readily with her wishes.

The only case in which he took sides against her was in her conduct towards me.

When I first secured her she had the temper of a demon, and with the smallest pretext she would assault me and try to bite me or tear my clothes. In these attacks Aaron was always with me, and the loyal little champion would fly at her in the greatest fury. He would strike her over the head and back with his hands, bite her, and flog her till she desisted. If she returned the blow he would grasp her hand and bite it, or strike her in the face. He would continue to fight till she submitted, when he would celebrate his victory by jumping up and down in a most grotesque fashion, stamping his feet, slapping his hands on the ground, and grinning like a mask. He seemed as conscious of what he had done and as proud of it as any human could have been; but no matter what she did to others, he was always on her side of the question. If any one else annoyed her, he would always resent it with violence.

About the premises there were natives all the time passing to and fro, and these two little captives were objects of special interest to them. They would stand by the cage hour after hour and watch them. The ruling impulse of nearly every native appears to be cruelty, and they cannot resist the temptation to tease and torture anything that is not able to retaliate. They were so persistent in poking my chimpanzees with sticks, that I had to keep a boy on watch all the time to prevent it; but the boy could not be trusted, so I had to watch him.

In the rear of the room that I occupied was a window through which I watched the boy and the natives both from time to time, and when anything went wrong I would call out from there to the boy. Aaron soon observed this, and found that he could get my attention himself by calling out when any one annoyed him, and he also knew that the boy was put there as a protector. Whenever any of the natives came about the cage he would call for me in his peculiar manner, which I well understood and promptly responded to. The boy also knew what it meant, and would rush to the rescue. If I were away from the house and the boy was aware of the fact, he was apt to be tardy in coming to the relief of the ape, and sometimes did not come at all, in which event the two would crawl into their house and pull down the curtain so that they could not be seen. Here they would remain until the natives would leave or some one came to their aid. Neither of them ever resented anything the natives did to them unless they could see me about, but whenever I came in sight they would make battle with their tormentors, and if liberated from the big cage, they would chase the last one of them out of the yard.

Aaron knew perfectly well that they were not allowed to molest him or his companion, and when he knew that he had my support he was ready to carry on the war to a finish. But it was really funny to see how meek and patient he was when left alone to defend himself against the natives with a stick, and then to note the change in him when he knew that he was backed up by a friend upon whom he could rely.

Mr. Strohm, the trader with whom I found hospitality at this place, kept a cow in the lot where the cage was. She was a small black animal, and the first that Aaron had ever seen. He never ceased to contemplate her with wonder and with fear. If she came near the cage when no one was about he hurried into his box, and from there peeped out in silence until she went away. The cow was equally amazed at the cage and its strange occupants, though less afraid, and frequently came near to inspect them. She would stand a few yards away with her head lifted high, her eyes arched and ears thrown forward, waiting for them to come out of that mysterious box; but they would not venture out of their asylum while she remained, until tired of waiting she would switch her tail, shake her head, and turn away.

When taken out of the cage, Aaron had special delight in driving the cow away, and if she was around he would grasp me by the hand and start towards her. He would stamp the ground with his foot, strike with all force with his long arm, slap the ground with his hand, and scream at her at the top of his voice. If she moved away, he would let go my hand and rush towards her as though he intended to tear her up; but if the cow turned suddenly towards him, the little fraud would run to me, grasp my leg, and scream with fright.

The cow was afraid of a man, and as long as she was followed by one she would continue to go; but when she would discover the ape to be alone in the pursuit, she would turn and look as if trying to determine what manner of thing it was. Elisheba never seemed to take any special notice of the cow except when she approached too near the cage, and then it was due to the conduct of Aaron that she made any fuss about it.