92 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
days so that it was feared he would die. All 
sorts of delicacies were placed before him, 
but without avail, until, as a last resource, 
it was suggested that a pineapple might tempt 
his appetite. This was soon procured and offered 
to the ailing ape, who immediately devoured 
every particle of the fruit, as well as most 
of the leaves, and from thenceforth he rapidly 
regained health and strength. 
How then do we account for the fact that 
Johnny succeeded in passing no less than 
five winters in England, thereby breaking all 
records of longevity in captivity for one of 
his kind ? The answer to this query, although 
at first sight appearing somewhat difficult to 
believe, but, nevertheless, accepted as being 
true by competent judges, is that Johnny, 
who was known to have been captured when 
quite a baby, was mothered by a black 
woman, her maternal attentions endowing her 
simian foster-child with the cheerful disposi¬ 
tion of a normally healthy human infant, 
and also giving him a degree of immunity 
against ailments which he would not have 
been brought into contact with in the ordinary 
course of events, but would meet when living 
in an entirely different climate to that of 
its native home, and amidst unnatural 
surroundings. 
