###Jack the Signalman
Uitenhage, South Africa, 1881–1890 — When a double-amputee railway guard needed help, he trained a pet baboon to perfectly operate the heavy track switches.
James "Jumper" Wide was a South African railway guard who lost both of his legs in a terrible train accident. Desperate for assistance, he went to a local marketplace and bought a clever Chacma baboon named Jack to help push his wooden wheelchair.
Jack proved incredibly smart. Soon, Wide taught the baboon to operate the station's heavy track-switching levers. Listening to specific train whistle codes while under Wide's direct visual supervision, Jack always pulled the correct levers to guide massive locomotives safely to their platforms.
When a passenger looked out her window and saw a baboon running the railway, she panicked. Government inspectors rushed to the station, fully expecting a disaster. Instead, they watched Jack perform his duties with absolute perfection.
Astounded by the baboon's flawless track record, the railway authorities decided not to fire Wide. Instead, they did something completely unprecedented: they put the animal on the payroll. Jack worked at the station for nine years, never making a single recorded mistake.
Jack the Signalman — Uitenhage, South Africa, 1881–1890