1818.] Wertierian Society. 303 



at Isle of Princes, from a native trader who had brought it from 

 the Gaboon river. Captain Payne had it in his custody for 

 more than two months. It showed an inclination to imitate 

 many human actions ; but never attempted the imitation of 

 sounds. It disliked the erect posture, and walked on the 

 knuckles, not the palms, of the fore extremities. It was dirty 

 in its habits, and very timid. It associated familiarly with the 

 crew, excepting one boy, to whom it showed a decided and 

 unceasing aversion. It was a faithful attendant of the seamen's 

 mess, ate almost every kind of vegetable offered, was very fond 

 of sweet articles of food ; but did not relish any kind of butcher's 

 meat. As the vessel approached the colder latitudes, it became 

 somewhat languid, and carefully wrapped itself in a blanket on 

 retiring to rest. From accounts given to Capt. Payne by negro 

 traders, on whose veracity he placed dependence, it appears, 

 that in its native haunts it is a very formidable animal: they 

 all agreed, too, in affirming, that negro girls had sometimes 

 been carried off and kept in a state of frightful captivity for 

 years ; stories which have hitherto been regarded as resting wholly 

 on the authority of Purchas's " Pilgrimes," and other old works. 



Feb. 21. — The second part of Dr. Traill's paper on the African 

 orang-outang was read, containing an account of the dissection 

 of the animal. To this dissection both Dr. Traill and Dr. Vose, 

 of Liverpool, dedicated all their leisure hours for several days' 

 They found Tyson's descriptions in many respects accurate ; but 

 they also detected several mistakes and omissions. It would 

 here be out of place to attempt to give any account of the ap- 

 pearances on dissection ; which, indeed, could scarcely be 

 abridged. It may, however, be mentioned, that they found a 

 flat triangular muscle, inserted near the top of the thigh, which 

 appears to have escaped the notice of Tyson, Camper, and 

 Cuvier. The action of this muscle is to draw the thigh up 

 toward the body ; and from its being evidently calculated to 

 facilitate climbing, it has been proposed to name it, muscu/us 

 scamorius. The animal was a female ; and the anatomists 

 remark, that the peculiar form of the pelvis shows that the erect 

 posture is not the natural one of the animal ; for that in the erect 

 posture it would be extremely liable to abortion in the gravid 

 state. 



March 7. — At this meeting the Secretary read a notice of a 

 new quadruped, from the Stoney Mountains in North America. 

 It is described by some American naturalists under the name 

 ovis montana ; and other observers are inclined to consider it as 

 a species of antelope. Professor Jameson, from its external 

 appearance, and the circumstance of the genus antelope being 

 foreign to the New World, proposes that it should be introduced 

 into the zoological system, as a new genus between the genera 

 • iipra and antelope. He also recommends the introduction of 

 this animal into Great Britain on account of the uncommon 



