PERILS OF THE HUNTER. 287 



a morose, ill-tempered little beast, and utterly ferocious and 

 intractable. Twice he escaped from confinement, and he died 

 suddenly, at last, chained by the neck, by which means alone he 

 could be kept secure. 



In its untameable ferocity of disposition, the youg Gorilla is 

 a fair type of the full-grown animal ; but in respect to courage 

 and daring, it is just the reverse. The young always run off on 

 all fours, shrieking with fear, as afso do the full-grown females, 

 especially if they have young ; but with the adult male the case 

 is wholly different. When once the hunter has been so fortunate 

 as to come up with his prey, he need have no fear of its running 

 away again. " In all my hunts and encounters with this animal," 

 says M. du Chaillu, " I never knew a grown male to run off." 

 Once the huge beast sees his foe, there is no sign of fear or dis- 

 position to retreat ; on the contrary, he prepares at once to ad- 

 vance to the attack, and the only alternative of the hunter is to kill 

 or be killed. It is idle to think of escape, and if his gun misses 

 fire, or fails to give a mortal wound, his death is certain. One 

 blow of that huge paw, with its nails, and the poor hunter's entrails 

 are torn out, his breast-bone broken, or his skull smashed. And to 

 make the matter more perilous still, if possible, the hunter dare 

 not fire until the monster is within eight or nine yards of him, 

 the usual shot being from fourteen to eighteen feet only. 



The manner in which the Gorilla advances to the attack is 

 very remarkable. Glaring on the hunter with malign eyes, 

 he beats his breast, and lifting up his head, utters his frightful 

 roar, beginning it with several sharp barks, and then rolling out 

 a long deeply guttural roar. M. du Chaillu says, that he has 

 reason tc believe that he has heard this frightful roar at a distance 

 of three miles. The horror of the animal's appearance at this 

 time is beyond description the short hair of the scalp and the 

 skin of the forehead are quickly drawn backwards and forwards 

 his huge teeth are ground violently together, and his wrinkled 

 face is contorted with ferocious excitement. In this way the 

 animal advances a short distance, and then stops again to utter 

 his terrible roar, and to beat his vast breast, which sends forth a 

 hollow reverberation that may be heard at a great distance. At 

 times he seats himself for a few moments still glaring on his as- 

 sailant, and beating his breast ; and thus stage by stage, in the 

 wildest excitement of passion, scowling with fiendish rage, the 



