Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals | Page 9

lay still among the
brushwood, they gamboled round him as they would round the natives.
This peaceable state of things, however, did not last, when he
established a field of sugar-canes in the newly-cleared jungle. He tells
the story so well, that I must be allowed to use his own expressions:--
"Every beast of the field seemed leagued against this devoted patch of
sugar-cane. The wild elephants came, and browsed in it; the jungle
hogs rooted it up, and munched it at their leisure; the jackals gnawed
the stalks into squash; and the wild deer ate the tops of the young plants.
Against all these marauders there was an obvious remedy--to build a
stout fence round the cane field. This was done accordingly, and a deep
trench dug outside, that even the wild elephant did not deem it prudent
to cross.
"The wild hogs came and inspected the trench and the palisades beyond.
A bristly old tusker was observed taking a survey of the defenses; but,
after mature deliberation, he gave two short grunts, the porcine
(language), I imagined, for 'No go,' and took himself off at a round trot,
to pay a visit to my neighbour Ram Chunder, and inquire how his little
plot of sweet yams was coming on. The jackals sniffed at every crevice,
and determined to wait a bit; but the monkeys laughed the whole
intrenchment to scorn. Day after day was I doomed to behold my canes
devoured, as fast as they ripened, by troops of jubilant monkeys. It was
of no use attempting to drive them away. When disturbed, they merely
retreated to the nearest tree, dragging whole stalks of sugar-cane along
with them, and then spurted the chewed fragments in my face, as I
looked up at them. This was adding insult to injury, and I positively
began to grow blood-thirsty at the idea of being outwitted by monkeys.
The case between us might have been stated in this way.
"'I have, at much trouble and expense, cleared and cultivated this jungle
land,' said I.
"'More fool you,' said the monkeys.

"'I have planted and watched over these sugar-canes.'
"'Watched! ah, ha! so have we for the matter of that.'
"'But, surely I have a right to reap what I sowed?'
"'Don't see it,' said the monkeys; 'the jungle, by rights prescriptive and
indefensible, is ours, and has been so ever since the days of Ram
Honuman of the long tail. If you cultivate the jungle without our
consent you must look to the consequences. If you don't like our
customs, you may get about your business. We don't want you.'
"I kept brooding over this mortifying view of the matter, until one
morning I hatched revenge in a practicable shape. A tree, with about a
score of monkeys on it, was cut down, and half-a-dozen of the youngest
were caught as they attempted to escape. A large pot of ghow (treacle)
was then mixed with as much tartar emetic as could be spared from the
medicine chest, and the young hopefuls, after being carefully painted
over with the compound, were allowed to return to their distressed
relatives, who, as soon as they arrived, gathered round them, and
commenced licking them with the greatest assiduity. The results I had
anticipated were not long in making their appearance. A more
melancholy sight it was impossible to behold; but so efficacious was
this treatment, that for more than two years I hardly ever saw a monkey
in the neighbourhood."
When we read of the numbers, the intelligence, and the audacity of
monkeys in this part of the world, it becomes a matter of curious
speculation as to how they will behave when the railroad is made
across India.
It has been frequently observed, that there is nothing more distressing
than to see a wounded or suffering monkey. He lays his hand upon the
part affected, and looks up in your face, as if appealing to your kindly
feelings; and if blood flow, he views it with so frightened an expression,
that he seems to know his life is going from him. An inquisitive
monkey, among the numerous company which sailed in a ship, always
seemed desirous of ascertaining the nature of everything around him,

and touched, tasted, and closely scrutinized every object to which he
had not been accustomed. A pot of scalding pitch was in use for
caulking the seams of the upper deck, and when those who were
employed in laying it upon the planks turned their heads from him, he
dipped one paw into it, and carrying it to his chin, rubbed himself with
the destructive substance. His yell of pain called the attention of the
sailors to him, and they did all in their power to afford alleviation; the
pitch was taken off