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At the very end of the Monkey House, past the chimps and
baboons, visitors looked upon an orangutan penned with a
“103-pound, four-foot eleven-inch chocolate-colored” man
that Hornaday claimed was a cannibal and that he knew as Ota
Benga.
What he didn’t know, exactly, was how Benga got from Africa
to America…
Samuel Phillips Verner had once hoped for recognition as a
scientist and explorer, first traveling to Africa as a
missionary, then as a hired acquirer of artifacts. Known as
somewhat of an expert on “pygmies,” Verner had procured
several young Africans and brought them to America. Rumor
had it that he’d “gone insane.”
Whatever it was that drove Verner, he often created stories
to fit the moment. He said that Benga asked to come to
America. He claimed he’d saved Benga’s life in the Congo,
which is possible because of atrocities being committed on
behalf of King Leopold of Belgium. For a fee, he offered to
leave Benga with Hornaday, and said he’d return shortly.
Instead, Verner appeared to have dumped Benga there, and
fled.
Within days of Benga’s appearance in the cage, local
ministers demanded his freedom, and they hired a lawyer. At
first despondent (his appearance at the Zoological Gardens
wasn’t his first experience), Benga became combative with
handlers. Hornaday was forced to turn him over to Brooklyn
Howard Colored Orphanage.
For the first time in years, Benga was free…
But was he? Author Pamela Newkirk leaves readers hanging,
not on purpose but by necessity because “… the true story
will probably never be known.”
What is true, though, is that this is one shocking
account; my hand flew to my mouth in astonishment by the
time I was on page eight of Spectacle, then it got
more intriguing:
while Benga is the obvious focus of the book, his story is
told more through his capturers, his handlers, and his
helpers. Indeed, Newkirk introduces us to shady characters,
as well as many good people, and she does it with a sense of
the times in which things occurred. Then she’ll squeeze your
heart dry with an ending that… ouch.
This book may take a little getting used to. It’s loaded
with early20th-century national and world history, and
you’ll need to call forth everything you learned about that
time – but I think it’s worth it. Five minutes with this
book, and you’ll know that Spectacle is a well-penned
work. |
