Jack – The Most Unusual Railway Worker of the Victorian Era (5 photos)
In the 1870s, passengers arriving at Uitenhage Station, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa, witnessed an incredible sight. Behind the switches in the switchbox, they saw... a baboon. 
It was Jack, the only monkey in the world officially employed and paid by the state railway. 
This amazing story began with James Edwin Wide, a trackman nicknamed "Jumper" by his colleagues for his habit of jumping onto and between moving train cars. His reckless driving ended in tragedy: one day, he misstepped and was run over. Both James's legs were amputated. Showing remarkable willpower, he fashioned wooden prostheses and convinced his superiors that he could still be useful. He was transferred to a quiet position as a switchman at Uitenhage station. 
One day at the market, James saw a chacma baboon deftly handling an oxcart. Impressed by its intelligence, Wide bought the monkey, named it Jack, and made it his assistant. Jack quickly learned to do household chores: sweep the floor, take out the trash, and, most importantly, drive his master to work in a special cart. At the station, he was even trusted with the key to the coal yard. 
But Jack's greatest talent was revealed on the job. In those days, engineers used whistles to signal the switchman where to switch tracks. Observing his master, Jack not only learned these signals but also learned to switch points independently. Soon, he was performing his duties without any supervision. 
A complaint from a passenger, outraged that her train was being driven by a monkey, forced management to conduct an official investigation. Jack passed the "exam" with flying colors under the inspector's supervision. The inspector was so impressed that the baboon was officially hired. Jack received a personal number, a salary of 20 cents a day, and a quota of half a bottle of beer a week.
During nine years of impeccable service, until his death from tuberculosis in 1890, Jack, according to contemporaries, never made a single mistake. His story remains a unique example of faithful service and extraordinary animal intelligence.
