3 j2 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



off limbs of trees to tlirow at enemies ; that the chimpanzee cracks 

 nuts with stones, etc. 



In order to make definite investigations, the essayist addressed the 

 managers of several zoological gardens, to ask if the keepers had ever 

 observed the natural, unaided use that monkeys made of clubs, mis- 

 siles, or hammers, or other objects, as tools or weapons. The keeper 

 of the zoological garden of Philadelphia courteously replied that "The 

 whole subject of the psychology of the lower animals, to which your 

 letter has reference, is one on which trustworthy evidence is very 

 scarce. Personally, in twenty years of observation of wild animals I 

 have seen no case of the apparent use of such means to an end as 

 stones for weapons, etc., on the part of a monkey which could be be- 

 lieved to show intelligent conception of a purpose. I am inclined to 

 think that the recorded cases are largely accidental or the result of 

 misrepresentation or imagination.'' Dr. Frank Baker, of the National 

 Zoological Park, at Washington, kindly wrote that "One monkey in 

 our collection, when annoyed by visitors, will throw anything, from a 

 feed-pan to a handful of sawdust, at an offender. One Cehus. tries to 

 pick cockroaches out of the cracks in the floor with a straw, when too 

 small for his fingers ; but beyond this there has been nothing ob- 

 served that could be considered as the using of an object as a tool or 

 weapon." Other correspondents said the same thing — there were no 

 actions on the part of the quadrumana, that they had .observed, that 

 could be taken as indicative of intelligent action. Prof. R. L. Garner, 

 in his most interesting book on the "Speech of Apes and Monkeys," 

 who spent some time in the wild country of the Gaboon on purpose 

 to pursue his studies, observes that "Animals may be taught to do 

 many things in a mechanical way and without any motives that re- 

 late to the actions." His pet chimpanzee tried to drive nails, use the 

 saw, etc., but could not manage it, nor even the use of the club to 

 crush his sugar-cane. Of the gorilla he says: "As to his throwing 

 sticks or stones at enemies, there is nothing to verify it and much to 

 contradict it. It is a mere freak of fancy. Neither the chimpanzee 

 nor the gorilla close the hand to strike nor use any weapon but the 

 hands and teeth." 



From this evidence at first hand, we must conclude that the use of 

 extraneous substances by animals, especially the quadrumana, is purely 

 automatic and imitative, and not to be considered as rational action at 

 all. Whatever they have learned has been by reason of contact with 

 man and the result of imitation and training. We must conclude, 

 further, that the use of tools and weapons, even preceding the intelli- 

 gent conformation of them for definite purposes, marked the differen- 

 tiation of primitive man from the animal branch, and accompanied- — 



