THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS, 



CHAPTER I. 



Early Impressions. — First Observations of Monkeys. — First 

 Efforts to Learn their Speech.— Barriers.— The Phono- 

 graph Used. — A Visit to Jokes. — My Efforts to Speak to 

 him. — The Sound of Alarm Inspires Terror. 



From childhood, I have believed that all kinds 

 of animals have some mode of speech by which 

 they can talk among their own kind ; and I have 

 often wondered why man has never tried to learn 

 it. I have often wondered how it occurred to 

 man to whistle to a horse or dog- instead of using 

 some sound more like their own, and even yet 

 I am at a loss to know how such a sound has 

 ever become a fixed means of calling these ani- 

 mals. I am not alone in my belief that all ani- 

 mals have some way to make known to others 

 some certain things; but to my mind, the means 

 have never been well defined. 



About eight years ago, in the Cincinnati Zo- 

 ological Garden, I was deeply impressed by the 



