A MALE GORILLA KILLED. 173 
he was within eight yards from us before he stopped 
again. My breath was growing short with excitement 
as I watched the huge beast. Malaouen said “ Steady,” 
ashe came up. When hestopped, Malaouen said ‘‘ Now;” 
and before he could utter the roar for which he was 
opening his mouth, three musket balls were in his body, 
and he fell dead almost without a struggle. Gambo had 
DEATH OF A MALE GORILLA. 
not fired; he had kept his gun in reserve in case of 
accident. ‘Do not fire too soon. If you do not kill 
him he will kill you,” said friend Malaouen to me—a 
piece of advice which I found afterward to be literally true. 
It was a huge beast, and a very old one indeed. Gorillas 
vary in height like men. This one was over 5 feet 6 
