Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 May 1898 — A Monkey’s Accomplishment. [ARTICLE]

A Monkey’s Accomplishment.

No creature but man has ever made use of fire. An African traveler, indeed, has told a story of apes making a thieving raid on a camp of natives and carrying torches to light their way, but this story lacks proof and Is not accepted as true by zoologists. There Is, however, In the Philadelphia zoological garden a monkey who has learned to scratch matches perfectly well. This accomplishment he Is willing to exhibit on any occasion. He has learned to hold the match by its middle part, so that his fingers are not burned by being too near the flame, and so that the match will not break by being held too near the other end. This fact involves another—that he is aware which end has the sulphur and does not attempt to scratch the uneulphured end. He has furthermore learned that a rough surface is better