52 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



The ferocious nature of the orang, when angered or driven to bay, is confirmed 

 by both Sir James Brooke and Mr. Wallace. An instance of this is related by the 

 latter writer in the following words: "A few miles down the river there is a Dyak 

 house, and the inhabitants saw a large orang feeding on the young shoots of a palm 

 by the riverside. On being alarmed he retreated towards the jungle, which was 

 close by, and a number of the men, armed with spears and choppers, ran out to 

 intercept him. The man who was in front tried to run his spear through the 

 animal's body, but the mias seized it in his hands, and in an instant got hold of the 

 man's arm, which he seized in his mouth, making his teeth meet in the flesh above 

 the elbow, which he tore and lacerated in a dreadful, manner. Had not the others 

 been close behind, the man would have been more seriously injured, if not killed, 

 as he was quite powerless ; but they soon destroyed the creature with their spears 

 and choppers. The man remained ill for some time, and never fully recovered the 

 use of his arm." 



The same writer relates the history of a young orang which he received in 

 Borneo when it was only a foot high. When first carried home this tiny creature 

 took such a firm grasp of its new owner's beard, that it was with difficulty it could 

 be made to loose its hold. At the time of its capture there were no signs of teeth in 

 its mouth, but in the course of a few days two of the lower incisor teeth were cut. 

 There was at the time unfortunately no means of obtaining a supply of milk for the 

 little ape ; but Mr. Wallace overcame this difficulty by feeding it with rice water 

 sucked from a bottle with a quill through the cork. The animal soon managed to 

 suck comfortably enough from this contrivance ; and when sugar and cocoanut milk 

 were added to the mixture it thrived well enough on the diet. If its owner introduced 

 his finger into the creature's mouth, it first of all sucked away vigorously, but soon 

 found out its mistake, and pushed the finger away with angry screams like those 

 of a disappointed child. When caressed this ape was contented and happy, but 

 when laid down soon began to scream ; and for the first two nights of its captivity 

 was very noisy and restless. It was kept in a kind of cradle, made of a box, with a 

 soft mat at the bottom. The little orang seemed to appreciate a frequent bath ; and, 

 indeed, when it required one announced the fact by loud screams. The process of 

 drying and rubbing after each bath seems to have been a source of great enjoyment ; 

 and this was likewise the case when its hair was combed and brushed. At first it 

 clutched vigorously by all four limbs at any object in its neighborhood, so that its 

 owner had continually to be on his guard to save his beard. When it could find 

 nothing better to do, it would nurse its own foot. little by little the strength of 

 the tiny creature's grip decreased, probably owing to the want of sufficient exercise. 

 In order to remedy this, Mr. Wallace made a short ladder, from which the ape was 

 suspended by its hands and feet for a quarter of an hour at a time. This exercise 

 seemed at first to afford it pleasure, but afterwards it loosed its hold, first with one 

 limb, and then with another, till it finally fell to the ground. These tumbles did 

 not appear, however, to do it any material harm. 



Mr. Wallace endeavored to construct a kind of artificial mother out of buffalo 

 hide, which the baby orang might fondle. For a time this appeared to afford satis- 

 faction, but eventually was discarded, as the animal was nearly choked with the 



