i 3 2 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 



the natives avoid it except when a beast becomes a 

 menace to the village. An orang-outang in battle 

 is ferocious. If it is treed and afraid to come down, 

 it goes into a paroxysm of fury. It will bite its 

 arms, tearing the flesh away and inflicting frightful 

 wounds. If there are two of the animals, they bite 

 and hug each other. An orang-outang that has 

 been struck by an arrow can follow the natives in 

 the trees or on the ground while the poison is taking 

 effect. The only refuge from the frenzied creature 

 is the smoke of a fire, and, when it is sufficiently 

 enraged, even that will not stop it. The best chance 

 lies in keeping it so harried that it does not know 

 whom to attack ; once it decides on a particular na- 

 tive, the native is as good as dead. When the poison 

 begins to work, after an animal has been wounded, 

 the natives end the fight with knives. The possibil- 

 ity of an orang-outang attack is a danger that all 

 the men must be prepared to face, and the duty of 

 engaging in an orang-outang hunt is no less im- 

 portant than that of making war. It was but 

 normal, therefore, that, as soon as I had convinced 

 the villagers of my trustworthiness, I should have 

 their hearty support. 



After putting the men to work on the nets and 

 cages, I selected a crew of twenty-five to accompany 

 me while I went out to get the lay of the land. I 

 warned the men against doing anything that might 

 frighten the animals unnecessarily and explained 

 that we should do no hunting for smaller game until 



