10 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



him. As we moved up he began to yell, and made a dash 

 upon a poor fellow who was in advance. The fellow ran 

 and tumbled down in affright. By his fall he escaped the 

 tender mercies of Joe's teeth; but he also detained the 

 little rascal long enough for the nets to be thrown over him." 

 But Joe was a child of nature and could not live with the 

 chain of civilisation around his neck, and he died somewhat 

 suddenly some ten days afterwards and finally found his 

 way to the British museum. 



Gorilla According to du Chaillu, the natives entertain 

 Superstitions, many superstitions about the gorilla, among the 

 commonest of which is the belief that some gorillas are 

 inhabited by human spirits. In his " Stories of the Gorilla 

 Country " he gives an interesting illustration of this. " In the 

 evening, " he says, " the men told stories about gorillas. ' I re- 

 member, ' said one, ' my father told me he once went out to 

 the forest, when just in his path he met a great gorilla. My 

 father had his spear in his hand. When the gorilla saw 

 the spear he began to roar; then my father was terrified 

 and dropped the spear. When the gorilla saw that my 

 father had dropped the spear he was pleased. He looked 

 at him, and then left him and went into the thick forest. 

 Then my father was glad and went on his way.' Here all 

 shouted: 'Yes! so we must do when we meet the gorilla. Drop 

 the spear; that appeases him.' Next Gambo spoke. 'Several 

 dry seasons ago, a man suddenly disappeared from my 

 village after an angry quarrel. Some time after an Ashira 

 of that village was out in the forest. He met a very large 

 gorilla. That gorilla was the man who had disappeared; 

 he had turned into a gorilla. He jumped upon the poor 

 Ashira and bit a piece out of his arm; then he let him go. 

 Then the man came back with the bleeding arm. He told 

 me this, I hope we shall not meet such gorillas.' Chorjts: 

 'No; we shall not meet such wicked gorillas.' "I myself," 

 says du Chaillu, "afterwards met that man in the Ashira 



