Monkey-baiting

"The Westminster-Pit: A Turn-up between a Dog and Jacco Macacco, the Fighting Monkey"
by Samuel Alken
Illustration, circa early 1800s

Monkey-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of monkeys.

Background

Monkey baiting arose as a alternative avenue for chalenges to dog fighting breeds. 'Dog versus Monkey' was shown to be such a match-up.

The monkey proved to be a formidable opponent for the canine; owners and handlers of fighting dogs frequently under estimated a monkey's abilities. The monkey's intelligence, dexterity, unorthodox fighting style and gameness proved to be overwhelming for many canine opponents.

Jack

File:BulldogandMonkey.JPG

"Battle of the Bulldog and the Monkey"
by Samuel Howitt
Engraving, published 1799

The following occurrence is from The Sporting Magazine in the year 1799:

A quite unusual fight between two animals was staged in Worcester. The wager stood at three guineas, according to which the dog would kill the monkey in at most six minutes. The dog's owner agreed that the monkey would be allowed to defend itself with a stick about a foot long.

Hundreds of spectators gathered to witness this fight and the odds stood at eight, nine and even ten to one in favour of the dog, which could scarcely be subdued before the fight. The monkey's owner took a stick, about twelve inches long, from his coat pocket, tossed it to the monkey and said:

"Now Jack, pay attention, defend yourself against the dog!"

The butcher cried:

"Now, get after the monkey!"

He let the dog go and it sprang at the monkey like a tiger. The monkey was amazingly nimble, jumped about three feet high in the air and when it came down landed directly on the dog's back, bit firmly in the dog's neck, grabbed his opponent's left ear with his hand thereby preventing the dog from turning his head to bite him. In this totally surprising situation the monkey now began to work over the dog's head with his club and he pounded so forcefully and relentlessly on the dog's skull that the poor creature cried out loudly. In short, the skull was soon cracked and the dead dog was carried from the ring. Yet, the monkey was only of medium size."

This monkey-baiting inspired the famous English animal painter, Samuel Howitt, to illustrate this account in the engraving entitled "Battle of the Bulldog and the Monkey" circa 1799, which preserved this fight for future generations.

Jacco Macacco

Jacco Macacco was a celebrated monkey. Jacco was a male weighing approximately 10 lbs, from the species of Simian dominated by the Gibbon, which sit with their fore-paws upon the ground. His colour was of cinereous or ashy, with black fingers and muzzle. Jacco derived his first name from his sponsors the Jolly Jacktars.

Jacko was regularly advertised as being open to the attack of any dog not weighing above twenty pounds, for a bet from ten to fifty pounds that the dog would not last five minutes.

"Jacco Macacco at the Westminster-Pit"
by George Cruikshank
Copperplate engraving, circa 1820

His mode of attack or rather of defence was to present his back or neck to the dog and to shift or tumble about until he could lay hold on the arm or chest, when he ascended to the windpipe, clawing and biting away, which usually occupied him about one-and-one-half minutes and if his antagonist was not speedily withdrawn, his death was certain. After the bait the monkey exhibited a frightful appearance, being deluged with blood. The toughness and flexibility of his own skin rendered him impervious to the teeth of the dog. After fighting several battles in this manner, Jacko, improving his style from experience, changed his system of tactics and adopted the plan of jumping upon his adversary's neck, where with greater security and perfectly at his ease, he despatched his opponent in normally three minutes.

The following is an account by Pierce Egan from the Westminster-Pit in the year 1820:

"Jacco Macacco versus Puss"
by Edwin Henry Landseer
Illustration, circa 1820

"The dog pit was packed in a few minutes and many people were turned away grumbling, as if they had been deprived of the most beautiful sight in the world. They were so disappointed that they could not secure places ahead of time. Jacco Macacco was now presented in a pretty, small cage and was greeted by the shouts and whistles of the spectators. He was not even polite enough to bow in thanks for these signs of approval, which were directed at him alone. Jacco had a thin chain around his waist, about two metres long, which was fastened to a steel spike and pounded deep into the ground. Then he was taken from his cage.

Immediately after that the dog was brought out and it charged directly at the monkey. The monkey, however, before the dog reached him, ducked low, with dexterity that would serve a prize boxer well and rolled into a ball in order to withstand the force of the collision with the dog. Nonetheless, the dog immediately dug under him and turned him over. At that moment, however, the monkey's teeth cut like a saw into the dog's throat and like a knife ripped a large wound.

Because of the great loss of blood, which all dogs that fought against Jacco Macacco suffered, most died shortly afterward. The monkey very rarely suffered even slight wounds in these fights. It was said of him that he was of such an unbelievably ferocious nature that it seemed expedient to his master to always have a steel plate between him and the monkey in the event that the inadvertently bit at his legs.

"What a monster!" said a greasy butcher, who sat there with open mouth, a red nightcap on his head, pointing at Jacco Macacco. "I bet a leg of mutton on the monkey! You could strike me down if I ever saw such a thing before in my life. It is truly astounding! He seems to destroy the dogs with such ease as if for decades he had done nothing but fight dogs!"

You could fill a small book with similar quotations, which came from the noisy and excited crowd, all of whom admired the 'finishing qualities' of Jacco Macacco. Some laughed, others yelled wildly and a few of the people constantly jumped up and down in a kind of ecstasy, pounded their canes on the floor and resembled closely the inmates of a mental hospital, who had escaped from their straight jackets."

Background

Jack

Jacco Macacco

Further reading