The next difficulty that presented itself was, how they were to get
him along; when they broke in the onagra, they ran a prong through his
ear; in reducing the buffalo to subjection, they did not feel the
slightest compunction in thrusting a pin through the cartilage of his
nose; then, in order to give elasticity to the legs of the ostrich,
they yoked him to two or three other animals, and, willing or
unwilling, he was compelled ultimately to yield obedience to the lords
of creation. But whether the creature before them was a lower order of
negro or a higher order of ape, there was too great a resemblance
between the captured and the capturers to admit of any of these
methods of impulsion being adopted. It was, therefore, stretched on a
plank, like a nabob in his palanquin, that the chimpanzee made his
first appearance at Rockhouse.
When the cavalcade arrived there, all the family, with the exception
of Ernest and Frank, were still asleep. The first thing they did was
to clothe the creature they had captured in a sailor's pantaloons and
jacket, with which he seemed rather pleased, and the result of this
operation was, that he began to assume a less ferocious aspect, and
behave more respectfully towards his captors. All the family had sat
down to breakfast, when Fritz and Jack, taking him by the hands, led
him gravely into the gallery.
Pages:
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134