42 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



fested ; and it is evident that, if more space could be al- 

 lowed, distances very greatly exceeding eighteen feet 

 would be as easily cleared ; so that Duvaucel's assertion 

 that he has seen these animals launch themselves from one 

 branch to another, forty feet asunder, startling as it is, 

 may be well credited. Sometimes, on seizing a branch in 

 her progress, she will throw herself by the power of one 

 arm only, completely round it, making a revolution with 

 such rapidity as almost to deceive the eye, and continue 

 her progress with undiminished velocity. It is singular 

 to observe how suddenly this Gibbon can stop, when the 

 impetus given by the rapidity and distance of her swing- 

 ing leaps would seem to require a gradual abatement of 

 her movements. In the very midst of her flight a branch 

 is seized, the body raised, and she is seen, as if by magic, 

 quietly seated on it, grasping it with her feet. -As sud- 

 denly she again throws herself into action. 



u The following facts will convey some notion of her 

 dexterity and quickness. A live bird was let loose in her 

 apartment ; she marked its flight, made a long swing to a 

 distant branch, caught the bird with one hand in her pas- 

 sage, and attained the branch with her other hand ; her 

 aim, both at the bird and at the branch, being as success- 

 ful as if one object only had engaged her attention. It 

 may be added that she instantly bit off the head of the 

 bird, picked its feathers, and then threw it down without 

 attempting to eat it. 



" On another occasion this animal sWung herself from 

 a perch, across a passage at least twelve feet wide, against 

 a window which it was thought would be immediately 

 broken : but not so ; to the surprise of all, she caught the 

 narrow framework between the panes with her hand, in 

 an instant attained the proper impetus, and sprang back 



