64: THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



hunters and native traders, as they came suddenly upon 

 them while passing through the forests. 



4 ' It is said, that when the male is first seen he gives a 

 terrific yell, that resounds far and wide through the forest, 

 something like kh — ah ! kh — ah ! prolonged and shrill. 

 His enormous jaws are widely opened at each expiration, 

 his under lip hangs over the chin, and the hairy 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 loosely 

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

 of resort from force of circumstances." 



Dr. Savage's observations were confirmed and supple- 

 mented by those of Mr. Ford, who communicated an in- 

 teresting paper on the Gorilla to the Philadelphian Acad- 

 emy of Sciences, in 1852. With respect to the geographi- 

 cal 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 



