374 Dr Abel on the capture of a Colossal Orang-Outang,^ 



proportion to his size. The hair of his coat was smooth and 

 glossy when he was first killed, and his teeth and appearance al- 

 together indicated that he was young, and in the full possession 

 of his physical powers. Upon the whole," adds his biographer, 

 " he was a wonderful beast to behold, and there was more in 

 him to excite amazement than fear.*" 



That this animal showed great tenacity of life, is evident 

 from his surviving so many dreadful wounds ; and his peculia- 

 rity in this respect seems to have been a subject of intense sur- 

 prise to all his assailants. In reference to this point, it may be 

 prcrper to remark, that, after he had been carried on board ship, 

 and was hauled up for the purpose of being skinned, the first 

 stroke of the knife on the skin of the arm produced an instan- 

 taneous vibration of its muscles, followed by a convulsive con- 

 traction of the whole member. A like quivering of the mus- 

 cles occurred when the knife was applied to the skin of the 

 back, and so impressed Captain Cornfoot with a persuasion that 

 the animal retained his sensibility, that he ordered the process 

 of skinning to stop till the head had been removed. 



It seems probable tliat this animal had travelled from some 

 distance to the place where he was found, as his legs were co- 

 vered with mud up to the knees, and he was considered as great 

 a prodigy by the natives as by the Europeans. They had ne- 

 ver before met with an animal like him, although they lived 

 within two days' journey of one of the vast and almost impene- 

 trable forests of Sumatra. They seemed to think that his ap- 

 pearance accounted for many strange noises, resembling screams 

 and shouts, and various sounds, which they could neither attri- 

 bute to the roar of the tiger, nor to the voice of any other beast 

 with which they were familiar. What capability the great 

 orang-outang may possess of uttering such sounds does not ap- 

 pear, but this belief of the Malays may lead to the capture of 

 other individuals of his species, and to the discovery of more in- 

 teresting particulars of his conformation and habits. 



The only material discrepancy which I can detect in the dif- 

 ferent accounts which have been given of. this animal, regards 

 his height, which in some of them is vaguely stated at from 

 above six feet to nearly eight. Captain Cornfoot, however, 

 ^ho favoured me with a verbal description of the animal when 



