42 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



the natives are accustomed to suspend in the paths of these animals. The members 

 of the German L,oango Expedition frankly confess that they never saw a living, 

 wild gorilla, although they brought home a young one which had been captured 

 by some native hunters ; neither did Winwood Reade himself ever come across 

 these creatures in their native wilds. A later German traveler, Herr von Koppen- 

 fels, appears, however, to have been more fortunate, and states that he once ob- 

 served a male and female with their two young quietly feeding. 



From this account, and also from the natives, we know that gorillas habitually 

 live in small families (as in our illustration), having young ones of various ages 

 with them ; and that they frequent the most gloomy recesses of the forest, where 

 the light of day is reduced to a twilight so dim, that on cloudy days it might be 

 supposed that the sun was eclipsed. The climate of these forests is hot and damp, 

 suggestive of a Turkish bath or hothouse ; and as in most primeval forests, signs of 

 animal life are extremely rare, although the stillness may be broken now and then 

 by the voice of a bird. According to the account given by Herr von Koppenfels 

 (although this does not appear to be supported by others) gorillas are in the habit 

 of making a kind of nest in the trees by bending the boughs together and covering 

 them with twigs and moss at a height of several yards above the ground. In this 

 nest the female and young pass the night, while the male takes his station at the 

 bottom of the tree, where he remains in a sitting posture during the night, ready 

 to protect his family against the attacks of prowling leopards. This writer like- 

 wise assures us that gorillas do not frequent the same sleeping place for more than 

 three or four nights consecutively ; and this is but natural when we reflect that 

 these creatures must needs wander considerable distances in search of fresh supplies 

 of suitable food. 



Contrary to the custom of most wild animals, other than monkeys, gorillas 

 appear to roam the forest in search of food solely during the daytime, and are 

 totally stationary during the night. As a rule, they appear to walk on all fours ; 

 and while, in walking, the fingers of the hand are usually doubled on to the palm, 

 the whole sole of the foot is applied to the ground. They can, however, walk 

 with the fingers extended, and likewise with the toes bent down on the sole of 

 the foot. 



Although in appearance male gorillas are somewhat unwieldy creatures, yet, 

 like all their kindred, they are most active and indefatigable climbers, and are said 

 to ascend to the very tops of the forest trees, where they will pass from tree to tree 

 almost as readily as the far lighter spider monkeys of Brazil. They also appear 

 capable of taking leaps from great heights to the ground without damage to them- 

 selves, since Herr von Koppenfels tells us he even saw an adult spring from a tree 

 at a height of some thirty or forty feet, and on alighting rapidly disappear into 

 the scrub. 



Although when driven to close quarters the gorilla is doubtless one of the most 

 terrible of foes, yet it appears certain that very exaggerated accounts have been 

 given of the natural ferocity. Herr von Koppenfels, as quoted by Dr. Hartmann, 

 informs us that so "long as the gorilla is unmolested he does not attack men ; and, 

 indeed, rather avoids the encounter." And when these creatures catch sight of 



