reason, or of " intellectual acquirements," as is some- 

 times most absurdly said. Of all our domestic mam- 

 malia, the pig complains the most loudly and piteously, 

 even when but slightly annoyed, and yet we never 

 think of boasting of the "intellectual acquirements" 

 of the pig ; and when we apply metaphorically, as is 

 sometimes coarsely done, to a human being the epithet 

 "piggish," or "pig-headed" we certainly do not 

 thereby mean to imply a more than ordinary share 

 of "inte'lectual acquirements." Yet in his internal 

 organisation, which is really most important in a 

 physiological point of view, the pig resembles man 

 more than any other domestic mammalia do. The 

 pointing to the wounds, is a natural, and almost a 

 necessary act of all handed animals, because they use 

 t hese organs, as well in endeavouring to rid themselves 

 of every bodily uneasiness and annoyance, as in 

 making way among the branches, seizing- their food' 

 and holding it while they eat it. We have as piteous 

 accounts of the apparent reproach of those who 

 wounded them, by monkeys, and monkeys formed 

 very unlike men, and with goodly swinging tails, as 

 that which Dr. Abel relates of the wounded orang- 

 utan. Therefore, in the whole conduct of the animal 

 there does not appear to be even the slightest ap- 

 proach to human action ; and consequently we are 

 to regard the whole of the alleged mental acquire- 

 ments, as gratuitous fancies, founded on the mere fact 

 of the slight structural resemblance. When we ap- 

 ply analysis to that, we find, as has been already 

 mentioned, that the ape is incapable of in any way 

 taking man's place, and man just as incapable of 

 taking the ape's place. The ape is a climbing animal, 

 fitted for residing in thick forests, and collecting wild 

 fruits as his food ; and for these purposes his structure 

 is probably the best that can be imagined. His hands 

 can grasp powerfully, and by means of them he can 

 either pull himself up, or, grasping with his hinder 

 paws, he can pull down that which he wishes. He 

 is also said sometimes to use a stick or even two 

 sticks to help him on his way, when he is forced 

 to walk for any considerable distance on his ill adapted 

 feet. But there, or nearly there, the functions of his 

 hands stop ; and there is at least no account of his 

 holding a cocoa-nut upon a stone with one hand, and 

 breaking the shell by battering it with another 

 stone held in the other, which is almost the first act 

 of the very rudest savage in those places where cocoa- 

 nuts grow. As is the case with all other animals, his 

 organs of mastication are fitted for the division of his 

 food into swallowable portions ; so that, when he has 

 to crack a hard shell, he does it by means of the large 

 and powerful canine teeth with which he is furnished. 

 This, rather than a means either of attack or defence, 

 appears to be the use of those formidable teeth in the 

 apes; and, indeed, feeding seems to be the grand 

 use of all the furnishing of the mouths of animals in 

 what manner soever they are furnished. 



The two species which have been mentioned are 

 probably the only true apes, at least they are the 

 only known ones that have neither tails nor callosities 

 on the buttocks. The remainder of the genus pMccus, 

 are tail-less ; but they have the callosities in a greater 

 or less state of developement. They are sometimes 

 styled gibbons. 



Tne SIAMANG (P. syndactylus.} This species is 

 known only as an inhabitant of Sumatra, though the 

 probability is that it exists also in the neighbouring 

 islands. It has not been long known to Europeans. 



PE. 167 



1 1 was first observed in the forests of Sumatra, by the 

 late sir Stamford Rafrles(who set a most noble exam- 

 ple to governors of eolonies where the natural history 

 is little known,) and the two French naturalists 



P. syndactjMis. 



Duvaucelle and Diard. The only account, or at 

 least the most satisfactory one, which we have of the 

 manners of the animal in its native forests, is in a 

 letter from the former of these two naturalists to M. 

 F. Cuvier. After mentioning that the Siamangs are 

 very common in the Sumatran forests, that they are 

 often tamed by the natives, and that he had conse- 

 quently many opportunities of observing the animal 

 both in its wild state and in confinement ; M. 

 Duvaucelle proceeds : " The siamangs generally as- 

 semble in numerous troops, conducted, it is said, by 

 a chief, whom the Malays believe to be invulnerable, 

 probably because he is more agile, powerful, and dif- 

 ficult to obtain than the rest. Thus united, they 

 salute the rising and the setting sun with the most 

 terrific cries, which may be heard at the distance of 

 many miles, and which, when near, stun when they 

 do not frighten. This is the morning call of the 

 mountain Malays, but to the inhabitants of the town, 

 who are unaccustomed to it, it is a most insupportable 

 annoyance. By way of compensation, they keep a 

 profound silence during the day, unless when inter- 

 rupted in their repose or their sleep. These animals 

 are slow and heavy in their gait ; they want confi- 

 dence when they climb, and agility when they leap, 

 so that they may be easily caught, when they can be 

 surprised. But nature, in depriving them of the means 

 of readily escaping danger, has endowed them with a 

 vigilance which rarely fails them ; and if they hear a 

 noise which is unknown to them, even at the distance 

 of a mile, fright seizes them, and they immediately 

 take flight. When surprised on the ground, however, 

 they may be captured without resistance, either over- 

 whelmed with fear, or conscious of their weakness 

 and the impossibility of escaping. At first, indeed, 

 they endeavour to avoid their pursuers by flight, and 

 it is then that their mal-addrees in this exercise be- 

 comes most apparent. Their body, too tall and 

 heavy for their short and slender thighs, inclines for- 

 ward, and availing themselves of their long arms as 

 crutches, they thus advance by jerks, which resemble 



