206 



THE GAMES OF ORANG-OUTANGS, AND 

 KEES THE BABOON 



The first Europeans who visited some of the large islands 

 lying close to the Equator — Borneo, Sumatra, and several 

 more — were astonished at finding the woods full of a 

 huge creature which they took for some time to be a man. 

 It was very shy, and disappeared into the thick, dark 

 depths of the forest directly it caught sight of a human 

 being, so it was not very easy to make out exactly what 

 it was like. However, the white men were curious, and 

 also persevering, and at length they were rewarded by 

 seeing one of the largest kind pass by, while they were 

 peeping from behind a bush. No, it certainly was not a 

 man, not even a savage ; but how very like one ! To begin 

 with, the animal as often as not walked on two legs, and 

 had no tail, while the palms of its hands and the soles of 

 its feet were hairless. The arms were immensely long, 

 and could be used as legs, and the height of a full-grown 

 specimen was sometimes as much as eight feet. This is 

 the animal now known as the Orang-outang. 



The whole tribe are wonderfully quick in then: 

 motions, and when they are put on board ship can swing 

 themselves about the ropes and rigging in a way that 

 surprises even a skilful sailor. They are affectionate and 

 good-natured, and very intelligent, being, able to copy the 

 actions of their masters so closely that, at a little distance, 

 you could not tell which was which. A small orang- 

 outang was brought over to Holland in 1776, but died 



