68 THE MAN-LIKE APES. i 



ridge and scalp are contracted upon the brow, presenting 

 an aspect of indescribable ferocity. 



" The females and young, at the first cry, quickly dis- 

 appear. He then approaches the enemy in great fury, 

 pouring out his horrid cries in quick succession. The 

 hunter awaits his approach with his gun extended; if 

 his aim is not sure, he permits the animal to grasp the 

 barrel, and as he carries it to his mouth (which is his 

 habit) he fires. Should the gun fail to go off, the barrel 

 (that of the ordinary musket, which is thin) is crushed 

 between his teeth, and the encounter soon proves fatal to 

 the hunter. 



" In the wild state, their habits are in general like 

 those of the Troglodytes niger, building their nests loose- 

 ly in trees, living on similar fruits, and changing their 

 place of resort from force of circumstances." 



Dr. Savage's observations were confirmed and 

 supplemented by those of Mr. Ford, who communi- 

 cated an interesting paper on the Gorilla to the 

 Philadelphian Academy of Sciences, in 1852. 

 "With respect to the geographical distribution of 

 this greatest of all the man-like Apes, Mr. Ford 

 remarks : 



" This animal inhabits the range of mountains that 

 traverse the interior of Guinea, from the Cameroon in 

 the north, to Angola in the south, and about 100 miles 

 inland, and called by the geographers Crystal Mountains. 

 The limit to which this animal extends, either north or 

 south, I am unable to define. But that limit is doubtless 

 some distance north of this river [Gaboon]. I was able 

 to certify myself of this fact in a late excursion to the 

 head- waters of the Mooney (Danger) River, which comes 

 into the sea some sixty miles from this place. I was in- 

 formed (credibly, I think) that they were numerous 



