THE WAYS OF MONKEYS. 241 



Duke Ernst, of Coburg-Gotha, and near the same place we met the 

 troop moving half-way up on the rocky slope of the hill. On the 

 duke's motion, we resolved to offer them fight. Seven men, armed 

 with patent rifles, opened the attack. At the first volley the females 

 took to flight with the young ones, while the males not only did not 

 flee, but advanced, and in less than no time a formidable hail of stones 

 whistled around our heads. Some of the stones thrown were as large 

 as a man's head. It was full time for us to withdraw, and so we did. 

 The monkeys remained the masters of the battle-field. 



On my second voyage to Eastern Soudan we stopped in Khartoum 

 during the rainy season. I suffered much, even more than I am 

 suffering here in New York, from fever and chills. In the long, tedi- 

 ous hours of leisure we made a collection of monkeys, and those ani- 

 mals cheered me up many a time in my physical and mental troubles. 

 We played with them, and at the same time undertook their training, 

 and that in a fashionable manner. So we gave them riding-lessons. 

 An old, fat, lazy donkey had the honor to serve as horse, and, although 

 the apes showed disgust and fear at first, one single lesson was 

 sufficient to initiate them into the secrets of the noble sport, and in 

 a few days they were, in their way, masters in the art. They would 

 mount the donkey three, four, and five at a time, the first one em- 

 bracing fondly the neck of the trotter with the fore-hands and cramp- 

 ing his hind-hands convulsively in the pelt of the animal's abdomen ; 

 the next one taking hold of his comrade, and securing his equilibrium 

 in the same way by means of the hind-hands ; and so on in a file. A 

 funnier sight than this, four or five grinning apes closely nestled to 

 the donkey's back, can hardly be imagined. The gray-haired trotter 

 sometimes had to suffer from the mischievous riders, and did not con- 

 ceal his feelings, to the great amusement of his tormentors. Besides 

 playing, the monkeys were instructed in many little arts and tricks, 

 and on that occasion I learned to appreciate them as smart and most 

 sagacious creatures. 



But passion makes them blind unlike men, as it is said by the 

 monkey-haters as if men always kept quiet, composed, even-minded, 

 and sober ! As well as the apes in general, our baboons were passion- 

 ately fond of strong liquors, and had a peculiar propensity for merisa, 

 a kind of beer made of the grains of durrah by the inhabitants 

 of the Soudan. Brandy was not to their taste, but, unfortunately, 

 they made an exception one day. After having swallowed copious 

 quantities of merisa, each one of the troop was offered a big glass 

 of date -brandy, which he drank. As a consequence they became 

 completely intoxicated, insolent, passionate, bestial, and grinned and 

 gamboled in a fearful manner ; in one word, they offered the hideous 

 caricature of drunken men. The next day thirteen of the drunk- 

 ards were suffering from the consequences of the spree, and looked 

 sick unto death. All food gave them nausea ; they turned away with 



VOL. XXTII. 16 



