40 



With regard to the color of the hair, of which, as we have already 

 said, the general hue is blackish, there is considerable individual varia- 

 tion, and likewise a change attendant upon age ; very old gorillas becoming more or 

 less completely grizzled. As a rule, we may notice a reddish-brown tint on the hair 

 at the top of the head, although it may be dark brown, or even black ; the hairs 

 generally being differently colored in different portions of their length. On the sides- 

 of the face the hair is grayish at the roots and dark at the tips ; while on the neck and 

 shoulders it tends to become lighter at the tips. A dark gray color seems to charac- 

 terize the tips of the hairs over the greater portion of the body and the upper parts 

 of the limbs ; but below the tips these hairs have a dark brown ring, beneath which 

 they again become lighter. On the lower parts of the limbs and hands the hairs are 

 darker at their tips, where they vary from brown to black ; but in some individuals 

 these portions of the limbs may be covered, like the trunk, with a mixture of gray 

 and brown hairs. 



The hair consists of an outer coat of long stiff bristles, and of a 

 ' x ,f rna . shorter inner coat of fine, short, curly hairs, approximating to a woolly 

 nature. The moderately long hair on the crown of the head is very 

 stiff, and can be erected when the animal is enraged. Although the front and 

 sides of the chin have but a short covering of hair, its under portion has a distinct 

 beard or ruff. By far the longest hair on the upper part of the body is that growing 

 on the shoulders, and hanging down thence on the back and upper part of the arms. 

 The length of this hair is, however, somewhat exceeded by that growing on the 

 thighs. On the chest and the rest of the under parts the hair is much shorter ; that 

 on the chest generally taking an upward and outward direction. The woolly under- 

 hair is not very thick, and has no tendency to mat together. The long hair of the 

 shoulders, back, and thighs communicates a generally shaggy appearance to the 

 gorilla, although this is much less marked than in the orang. 



The female gorilla, as we have already mentioned, is much smaller 

 than the male, and does not generally exceed some four and a half 

 feet in height. The whole build is, moreover, relatively weaker, the tusks are but 

 slightly developed, and the skull is proportionately smaller and more rounded, with- 

 out the huge bony arches over the eyes. It appears, moreover, that in the adult 

 female the bridge of the nose is relatively shorter than in the male, while the cheeks 

 are wider, and the upper lip longer than is usually the case in the latter. The gen- 

 eral appearance of the female gorilla is, therefore, considerably less ferocious and 

 repulsive than that of her lord and master. 



Having now made our readers acquainted with the chief characters of the 

 gorilla, we proceed firstly to notice the districts and nature of the country it in- 

 habits, and then to say something as to its mode of life. 



The geographical range of the gorilla is very much more restricted 

 D t 'b ti than * s ^ at ^ t ^ ie cn i m P anzee > being limited to that district of West- 

 ern Equatorial Africa, lying between 2 north latitude and 5 south 

 latitude, and apparently not extending further into the interior than 16 east longi- 

 tude. This hot and miasmatic region includes the mouths of the rivers Ogavai, 

 Gabun, and Muni, and also the range of mountains running for about a hundred 



