THE GORILLA. 417 



on my return from the plains I had spent more than a 

 happy hour or two, we were steaming down the harbour 

 for the open sea. 



In the last few days of rny stay in New York I had 

 paid a visit to Mr Galbraith, the naturalist and preserver 

 of birds, in the Broadway, and from him also procured 

 better skins than some of those I had myself obtained ; 

 for at the time that I shot them, most of the birds were on 

 the moult, and worthless for preserving. Mr Galbraith 

 was most attentive, and accorded me all the information 

 in his power. I also paid a most interesting visit to the 

 rare collection of creatures connected with natural history 

 in the possession of Paul de Chaillee, and there saw several 

 specimens of the gorilla, as well as an antelope, quite new 

 to me. With Paul de Chaillee I had much conversation, 

 and promised to try to get him an assured sum if he 

 would bring his collection to England, he being too poor 

 to risk his all in the matter ; my endeavours however have 

 not met with success. He told me that an old male gorilla 

 had seized one of his men, a native, I believe, by the side 

 with his short-fingered hand the hand of the gorilla is 

 shorter than that of the monkey tribe generally and that 

 with his hand alone he had broken through the outer skin 

 of the body and torn out the man's entrails. Without 

 doubting Paul de Chaillee's veracity, I think there is 

 some mistake here. I deny the power of the gorilla to do 

 so ; and my opinion is, that a man's arm a strong mus 

 cular man's arm is more powerful than the arm of any 

 gorilla. I think the gorilla must have used his teeth. I 

 have often given my hand to the largest monkeys in 

 menageries to test their power, but I had not the least 

 difficulty in the retention of my finger from the bars of 



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