242 
THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS 
ordinary emotions of fear or pleasure, offer no sort of 
resemblance, and scout the notion of a common 
“ Simian tongue.” 
The fact of the interpretation of the chimpanzee’s 
note by the Capuchin, can perhaps be explained with- 
out throwing doubt upon the whole theory. Monkeys 
in captivity do learn occasionally the notes of another 
species, not as mere mimics, but with the meaning 
which the other naturally attaches to the sounds. 
“ The most remarkable case,” writes Mr. Garner, 
“ which has come under my notice, is one in which a 
young white-faced monkey has acquired the sound 
which means 6 food ’ in the Capuchin tongue. This 
event occurred under my own eyes, attended by such 
conditions as showed that the monkey had a motive 
for learning the sound. In the room in which the 
monkeys were kept by a dealer in Washington, there 
was a cage which contained a young white-faced cebus, 
of more than average intelligence. He was a quiet, 
sedate, and thoughtful little monkey, whose grey hair 
and beard gave him quite a venerable aspect, and for 
this reason I called him ‘ Darwin.’ From some cause 
unknown to me, he was afraid of me, and I showed 
him but little attention. On the same shelf, and in an 
adjacent cage, lived the little Capuchin 4 Puck.’ For 
some weeks I visited ‘Puck’ almost daily, and in 
response to his sound for food , I always supplied him 
with nuts or bananas. I never gave him any of these 
things to eat unless he would ask for them in his own 
speech. On one of my visits, my attention was 
