How a regular baboon Jack began to work on the railway and direct trains

In southern Africa, bear baboons are common - large primates from the monkey family, which are distinguished by fairly active socialization. These animals communicate well with each other, and when communicating everything is used: grimaces, screams, bodily contact. Baboons are so smart that, for example, those who live off the coast come to catch the fish at low tide. Once every two weeks, just on that day, which accounts for the strongest ebb, the monkeys come to the sea and collect mollusks. However, this is not the greatest achievement of these primates: one of them worked as a signalman on the railway.

James the jumper wide

In South Africa there is the city of Eitenhache. Today it is known for producing cars here: the Volkswagen factory is located in the city. But at the end of the 19th century, even then, the small town gained fame for another reason: a real monkey worked at its railway station.

And the story began with the guard James Edwin Wyde, who worked on the railway. James's favorite amusement was to jump between the cars of a running train, for this entertainment his friends even called him a "jumper." However, such games are very dangerous, which once was confirmed: James got under the train.

They managed to pull him out, but his legs still got hurt. After a long treatment, Wyde nevertheless returned to the station: he built two prostheses for himself and learned to walk on them, demonstrating that he could still be useful. As a result, the railway leadership decided to leave him: so James became a signalman.

How James Met Jack

Jack rolls James on a trolley

One day James went to the market and saw an unusual picture: a monkey was pushing a cart in which oxen were harnessed. The man was so astounded by what he saw that he decided to get himself such a smart friend. He bought a baboon, brought him home and called him Jack. Jack was very capable of learning: he learned how to bring water to his master, take out the trash and even sweep the floor. Soon, Wade taught the baboon to push the cart in which he was sitting: this is how James and Jack began to go to work together.

Personal assistant

As the train approached the station, the driver made a few beeps: the quantity meant which route they needed. Wyde's job was to switch tracks on the railway. Jack was so smart that he also began to shift leverage. And he did it expertly: soon the baboon managed on his own without the advice of the owner and even without any supervision. That is, the monkey listened to the beeps and directed the movement of the whole structure itself!

20 cents a day and half a bottle of beer a week

Soon, rumors of an unusual employee reached the local authorities. They say that one of the passengers saw Jack through the window and was so shocked that she complained to the administration. However, the management did not begin to punish the station employees, but on the contrary, found the situation very funny. They decided to check Jack and were completely delighted: the baboon complied with all the instructions correctly. As a result, the primacy was so impressed with the leadership that they decided to take him into the state and even assign him a salary. Jack began to get twenty cents a day, and once a week he was supposed to be encouraged - half a bottle of beer. Pavian worked for nine years in Eitenhach until he died of tuberculosis. They say he was never wrong.