106 



give it up. 

 " the 



APE. 



On these occasions he would endcavoui 

 to pull tfie sail from under me or force me to quit it, 

 and would not rest till I had resigned it. If all the 

 sails happened to be set, he would hunt about for 

 some other covering, and either steal one of the 

 sailor's jackets, or empty a hammock of its blankets. 

 His favourite amusement in Java was in swinging 

 from the branches of trees, or climbing over the roofs 

 of houses ; on board, in hanging by the ropes, or 

 romping with the boys of the ship. He would entice 

 them to play by striking them with his hand as they 

 passed, and then bounding from them ; but allowing 

 them to overtake him, and engaging in a mock 

 scuffle. Of some small monkeys on board he took 

 little notice, whilst under the observation of the 

 persons of the ship. Once, indeed, he openly at- 

 tempted to throw a small cage, containing three of 

 them, overboard ; but I have reason to believe that he 

 was riot so indifferent to their society when free from 

 observation. On one occasion I observed him lying 

 on his back, partially covered with a sail, contemplat- 

 ing with great gravity the gambols of a young 

 monkey which was bounding over him ; at length 

 he caught him by the tail, and tried to envelope him 

 in his covering. The monkey seemed to dislike the 

 confinement and broke from him, but again renewed 

 its gambols ; and though frequently caught, always 

 escaped. The intercourse, however, did not seem 

 to be that of equals, for the orang-utan never conde- 

 scended to romp with the monkeys as he did with the 

 boys of the ship ; yet the monkeys had evidently a 

 great predilection for his company, for whenever 

 they broke loose they took their way to his resting- 

 place. 



" But though so gentle when not exceedingly 

 irritated, the orang-utan could be excited to violent 

 rage, and on one or two occasions committed an act 

 which, in a rational being, would have been called 

 the threatening of suicide. If repeatedly refused an 

 orange when he attempted to take it, he would shriek 

 violently and swing furiously about the ropes, then 

 return and endeavour to obtain it ; if again refused, 

 he would roll for some time like an angry child upon 

 the deck, uttering the most piercing screams, and 

 then suddenly starting up, rush furiously over the 

 sides of the ship and disappear. On first witnessing 

 this act, we thought that he had thrown himself into 

 the sea ; but on searching, found him concealed under 

 the chains." 



There is every reason to believe, from the well- 

 known character of the narrator, that this account i 

 as true as it is graphic ; but still it throws little light 

 upon the character of the animal in a state of nature. 

 Dr. Abel does not say how he obtained this specimen, 

 at what age it was caught, or what training it under- 

 went before it came into his possession ; though, 

 from its conduct in Java, it is quite clear that it must 

 have been a tamed animal, and not " a wild man ol 

 the woods" when there ; for all the accounts, (scanty 

 as they are) represent the wild animal as not courting 

 the society of mankind, but hiding himself from them 

 in the woods, with far more solicitude than the 

 monkey race. An account of another one, inserted 

 by the same observer in the fifteenth volume of the 

 Asiatic Researches, throws a little light upon the 

 native character of the animal ; but it is only a little, 

 inasmuch as it shows only the efforts of the orang- 

 utan to escape from those who were pursuing him to 

 the death. This specimen was of large size, at least 



seven feet in height, and when first observed he ap- 

 peared to be fatigued with a journey of some dis- 

 tance, as his legs were covered with mud up to the 

 knees ; and he had taken to a solitary tree in order 

 to rest himself. The place where he was observed 

 was on the north coast of Sumatra, out of the thick 

 forest, and with only a few clumps and straggling 

 trees. As the boat's-crew approached him, he seemed 

 apprehensive of danger and aware that the single 

 tree did not afford him an adequate means of safety ; 

 so he descended and made for a clump of trees 

 which was at some distance. On the ground his 

 motion was slow and wriggling, and apparently per- 

 formed with much effort. He had always now and 

 then to steady it by bringing his hands to the assist- 

 ance of his feet ; and he would even deviate a little 

 from the straight course, in order to lay hold of a tall 

 bush or branch, to enable him to swing himself 

 forward ; and it is probable that had he found a suffi- 

 cient succession of these, he would have been able to 

 elude his pursuers by speed ; but on the bare places 

 where there was nothing that he could grasp, he 

 made comparatively but little way, and seemed to be 

 out of his element. The rest of the adventure will, 

 however, tell better in Dr. Abel's own words : 



" On being driven to a small clump, he gained, by 

 one spring, a very lofty branch, and bounded from 

 one branch to another with the swiftness of a 

 common monkey, his progress being as rapid as that 

 of a swift horse. After receiving five balls, his ex- 

 ertions relaxed, and reclining overpowered against a 

 branch he vomited a quantity of blood. The ammu- 

 nition of the hunters being by this time exhausted, 

 they were obliged to fell the tree in order to obtain 

 him ; but what was their surprise to see him, as the 

 tree was falling, effect his retreat to another, with 

 seemingly undiminished vigour ! In fact, they were 

 obliged to cut down all the trees before they could 

 force him to combat his enemies on the ground ; and 

 when finally overpowered by numbers and nearly 

 in a dying state, he seized a spear made of a supple 

 wood, which would have withstood the strength of 

 the stoutest man, and broke it like a reed. It was 

 stated by those who aided in his death, that the 

 human-like expression of his countenance, and his 

 piteous manner of placing his hands over his wounds, 

 distressed their feelings so as almost to make them 

 question the nature of the act they were committing. 

 He was seven feet high, with a broad expanded chest 

 and narrow waist. His chin was fringed with a beard 

 that curled neatly on each side, and formed an orna- 

 mental rather than a frightful appendage to his 

 visage. His anns were long even in proportion to 

 his height ; but his legs were much shorter. Upon 

 the whole, he was a wonderful beast to behold, and 

 there was more about him to excite amazement than 

 fear. His hair was smooth and glossy, and his whole 

 appearance showed him to be in the full vigour of 

 youth and strength." 



In all this, there is still not the slightest relation to 

 human action or resource. When the animal found 

 that he was pursued, he did what all animals, whose 

 nature it is not to stand and face their enemies, do 

 upon like occasions, he sought that place where he 

 could use his powers to the greatest advantage ; and 

 thus he took to the clump, upon an instinct exactly 

 similar to that which makes the chased badger seek 

 his " earth." As to the " piteous cries," uttered by 

 those animals when wounded, they are no proof of 



