THE WILD MAN OF AMERICA. 281 



measure of authority to the statement ; while the third 

 would be a very natural inference from such ferocity as 

 animates the gorilla. Both Indians and missionaries 

 firmly believe in the existence of this dreaded creature, 

 which they call vasitri, or " the great devil." Humboldt 

 suggests that the original of what he boldly calls " the 

 fable," may exist in the person of " one of those large 

 bears, the footsteps of which resemble those of man, and 

 which are believed in every country to attack women ;" 

 and he seems to claim credit for being the only person 

 to doubt the existence of the great anthropomorphous 

 monkey of America. But it might be permitted, in return, 

 to ask what "large bear" is known to inhabit Venezuela ; 

 and whether it is true that bears' footsteps have a signal 

 resemblance to those of men ; and that bears specially 

 attack women. Is not such a bear in South America quite 

 as gratuitous as the monkey himself ? And, since species 

 of Quadrumana are characteristic of the forests of that 

 region, may it not be possible that some one rivalling 

 man in stature and strength, may there exist, as well as 

 in Africa and the Oriental Archipelago? The mighty 

 gorilla himself has only just been introduced to us. 



The immense, almost continental, islands of the eastern 

 hemisphere, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and, above all, Papua, 

 hold, it is likely, more unknown animals than the Western 

 Continent. Yet the remark just made will hold good 

 here also, — that we may rather expect new species of well- 

 known genera, than any really new forms. Again, nearly 

 half of the Australian continent is within the tropics, and 



