THE GIBBONS. 169 



patient for anything, a low pumping bark is uttered. Every 

 evening it makes with me a tour round the village square, 

 with one of its hands on my arm. It is a very curious 

 and ludicrous sight to see it in the erect attitude on its 

 somewhat bandy legs, hurrying along in the most frantic 

 haste, as if to keep its head from outrunning its feet, with its 

 long free arm see-sawing in a most odd way over its head to 

 balance itself, and now and again touching the ground with 

 its finger-tips or its knuckles. That they can leap the great 

 distances from tree to tree ascribed to them is no doubt an 

 accurate observation ; but they appear to be sometimes terror- 

 stricken and unable to perform these feats to save tlieir lives. 

 During the feUing of the forest near this village, a small colony 

 of Siamangs got isolated on a tree separated from the next 

 clump by some thirty feet or so. They scampered up and 

 down in the crown of the tree howling in the most abject 

 terror at every stroke of the axe ; yet they would not venture 

 to leap the intervening space, and even, when the tree was fall- 

 ing, they did not attempt to save themselves by springing to the 

 ground, but perished in its downfall. 



"When teething my companion suffered severely — as the 

 human infant so often does — both locally and constitutionally, 

 as indicated by boils and inflamed finger-tips. On lancing and 

 poulticing the latter, and extracting some of its obstructing 

 teeth, the poor creature seemed greatly relieved, and I was de- 

 lighted to watch it recover, without contracting for me any 

 antipathy for the pain I had inflicted on it, but rather the 

 reverse." At a later date the following extract occurs : — 



" During my march to the coast my Siamang accompanied 

 me, occupying, with the most grave demeanour, a seat on one 

 of the packages carried in the rear, near to m; self. Here it 



