5 8 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



ralist Duvaucel. The animal, when full-grown, stands a little over three feet in 

 height when in the upright position. It is of a uniform glossy black color, with 

 the exception of a gray or whitish beard, the hair on the body and limbs being 

 comparatively long. The hair on the fore-arm is directed upwards towards the 

 elbow, as in the larger Man-like Apes, whereas the other members of the genus have 

 it pointing towards the wrist. There are, moreover, two other features in which 

 this species differs from the other gibbons. The first of these peculiarities, and the 

 one from which the animal derives its scientific designation, is the circumstance that 

 the second and third toes of the foot are joined together by a thin web of skin, 

 reaching in the male as far as the last joint, but in the female only to the middle 

 one. The second distinctive peculiarity of the siamang is the possession of a pouch 

 formed by folds of skin round the neck and throat, resembling that which has al- 

 ready been mentioned as occurring in the orang. Moreover, the chin is better de- 

 veloped than in all the other gibbons. 



Duvaucel 's is one of the earliest authentic accounts of the siamang 

 that we possess. Writing from the neighborhood of Benculen in 

 Sumatra, he states that ' ' this species is very common in our forests, and I have 

 had frequent opportunities of observing it, as well in its wild state as in bondage. 

 The siamangs generally assemble in numerous troops, conducted, it is said, by a 

 chief, whom the Malays believe to be invulnerable, probably because he is more 

 agile, powerful, and difficult to reach than the rest. Thus united, they salute the 

 rising and setting sun with the most terrific cries, which may be heard at several 

 miles' distance ; and which, when near, deafen, when they do not frighten. This 

 is the morning-call to the mountain Malays, but to the inhabitants of the towns it 

 is a most insupportable annoyance. By way of compensation, they preserve a most 

 profound silence during the daytime, unless when disturbed in their repose or sleep. 

 These animals are slow and heavy in their gait ; they want confidence when they 

 climb, and agility when they leap, so that they may be easily caught, when they 

 can be surprised. But nature, in depriving them of the means of readily escaping 

 danger, has endowed them with a vigilance which rarely fails them ; if they hear a 

 noise which is strange to them, even though they be at a mile's distance, fright 

 seizes them, and they immediately take flight. When surprised on the ground, 

 however, they may be captured without resistance, being either overwhelmed with 

 fear, or conscious of their weakness and the impossibility of escaping. At first, 

 indeed, they endeavor to avoid their pursuers by flight, and it is then that their 

 awkwardness in this exercise is most apparent. Their body, too tall and heavy for 

 their short, slender thighs, inclines forward, and availing themselves of their long 

 arms, as crutches, they thus advance by jerks, which resemble the hobbling of a 

 lame man whom fear compels to make an extraordinary effort. ' ' 



Their want of agility when surprised on the ground is, however,- amply made 

 up for when in the trees, where they take long flying leaps. According to a 

 German writer, Herr Rosenberg, siamangs inhabit forests in Sumatra at an eleva- 

 tion of some three thousand feet above the sea level, rarely leaving the trees to 

 descend to the ground. At any sudden fright they rush violently down the 

 mountain sides, by leaping from bough to bough and from tree to tree in the 



