My "next of kin" were
so reasonably silent; they required no conversational efforts; they
were most interesting companions. "Silence is golden," I felt; shall I
ever enjoy a dinner party so much again?
My acquaintance with these fellow-creatures was made just after I
arrived. I saw the two tied by long ropes to the veranda rail above the
porch, and not liking their looks, went as far from them as I could to
write to you. The big one is perhaps four feet high and very strong,
and the little one is about twenty inches high.* After a time I heard a
cry of distress, and saw that the big one, whose name is Mahmoud, was
frightening Eblis, the small one. Eblis ran away, but Mahmoud having
got the rope in his hands, pulled it with a jerk each time Eblis got to
the length of his tether, and beat him with the slack of it. I went as
near to them as I dared, hoping to rescue the little creature, and he
tried to come to me, but was always jerked back, the face of Mahmoud
showing evil triumph each time. At last Mahmoud snatched up a stout
Malacca cane, and dragging Eblis near him, beat him unmercifully, the
cries of the little semi-human creature being most pathetic. I vainly
tried to get the Sikh sentry to interfere; perhaps it would have been a
breach of discipline if he had left his post, but at the moment I
should have been glad if he had run Mahmoud through with a bayonet.
Failing this, and the case being clearly one of murderous assault, I
rushed at the rope which tied Eblis to the veranda and cut it through,
which so startled the big fellow that he let him go, and Eblis, beaten
I fear to a jelly, jumped upon my shoulder and flung his arms round my
throat with a grip of terror; mine, I admit, being scarcely less.
[*The sheet of my letter in which I afterward described the physique of
these apes has unfortunately been lost, and I dare not trust to my
memory in a matter in which accuracy is essential. The description of
an ape (in Letter XIV) approaches near to my recollection of them.]
I carried him to the easy-chair at the other end of the veranda, and he
lay down confidingly on my arm, looking up with a bewitching, pathetic
face, and murmuring sweetly "Ouf! Ouf!" He has scarcely left me since,
except to go out to sleep on the attap roof. He is the most lovable,
infatuating, little semi-human creature, so altogether fascinating that
I could waste the whole day in watching him. As I write, he sometimes
sits on the table by me watching me attentively, or takes a pen, dips
it in the ink, and scribbles on a sheet of paper. Occasionally he turns
over the leaves of a book; once he took Mr. Low's official
correspondence, envelope by envelope, out of the rack, opened each,
took out the letters and held them as if reading, but always replaced
them. Then he becomes companionable, and gently taking my pen from my
hand, puts it aside and lays his dainty hand in mine, and sometimes he
lies on my lap as I write, with one long arm round my throat, and the
small, antique, pathetic face is occasionally laid softly against mine,
uttering the monosyllable "Ouf! ouf!" which is capable of a variation
of tone and meaning truly extraordinary. Mahmoud is sufficiently
polite, but shows no sign of friendliness, I am glad to say. As I bore
Eblis out of reach of his clutches he threw the cane either at him or
me, and then began to dance.
That first night tigers came very near the house, roaring
discontentedly. At 4 A.M. I was awoke by a loud noise, and looking out,
saw a wonderful scene. The superb plumes of the cocoa-nut trees were
motionless against a sky blazing with stars. Four large elephants, part
of the regalia of a deposed Sultan, one of them, the Royal Elephant, a
beast of prodigious size, were standing at the door, looking majestic;
mahouts were flitting about with torches; Sikhs, whose great stature
was exaggerated by the fitful light - some in their undress white
robes, and others in scarlet uniforms and blue turbans - were grouped as
onlookers, the torchlight glinted on peripatetic bayonets, and the
greenish, undulating lamps of countless fireflies moved gently in the
shadow.
I have now been for three nights the sole inhabitant of this bungalow!
I have taken five meals in the society of apes only, who make me laugh
with genuine laughter. The sentries are absolutely silent, and I hardly
hear a human voice. It is so good to be away for a time from the
"wearing world," from all clatter, chatter, and "strife of tongues," in
the unsophisticated society of apes and elephants. Dullness is out of
the question. The apes are always doing something new, and are far more
initiative than imitative. Eblis has just now taken a letter of yours
from an elastic band, and is holding it wide open as if he were reading
it; an untamed siamang, which lives on the roof, but has mustered up
courage to-day to come down into the veranda, has jumped like a demon
on the retriever's back, and riding astride, is beating him with a
ruler; and jolly, wicked Mahmoud, having taken the cushions out of the
chairs, has laid them in a row, has pulled a table cover off the table,
and having rolled it up for a pillow, is now lying down in an easy,
careless attitude, occasionally helping himself to a piece of
pine-apple. When they are angry they make a fearful noise, and if you
hinder them from putting their hands into your plate they shriek with
rage like children, and utter much the same sound as the Ainos do when
displeased.
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