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A Monkey Burglar

A Monkey Burglar image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
February
Year
1891
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

I once witnessad a very comical incident on an estáte in the Langkat district, writes a correspondent. I was superintending the cutüng of a "planting road" through dense awamp jungle, when I heard a great hubbub compounded of shouting and lauglung of men and chattering of monkevs. On arriving at the spot I found a crowd of coolies, Chinese, Klings and Malaya looking up into a lofty damar tree, in the branches of which about a dozen of the common black macaque monkeys were leaping aboiit in great exeitenn'iit. whïle one of their number, who appeared in some way to be fixed to the trunk of the tree, was nttering the most dolcful cries. Wlmt had happened to him was at once apparent He had espied the entranee to a tempting'-looking cavity, which he rightly judged to contain eg-g-s or nestlings, and at once insertad an exploring paw. Unluckily for him the nest was that of a hornbill and the lady of the house being at home, the would-be burilar wa-, in a most unpleasant sense "brought np before the beak." None of the other monkeys, who had by this time increased to about twenty, attempted to g-o to Iris asstetance, but contented themselves with raising a chorus of yeils whicli, joined to those of the delighted coolies, were perfectly deafening. Suddenly there was a rushing sound overhead and the male bird returned. Taking in the gituation at once, he made straight for the tree and seizing the prisoner by the hind leg in his huge mandibles, gave such a at lt that the next instant bird and monkey carne headlong' down; but while the former let go his holJ and flew p, the latter feil with a sounding thumpon the road and there la v. A Chinaman, on monkej'-stew intent, laid hold of him; but the animal r eco vering himsclf, made his teeth meet in his captor's leg, who thereupon added his howls to the general aproar. The male bird sat guard outside the nest for about an hour, when the monkeys, havIng exhausted their stock of abuse, gradually dispersed and the original cause of the riot "went to pot" the same evening. - X. Y. Journal. Joiirneymen- Tourista.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier