THE MONKEY KIND 



399 



nevertheless, it would be fatiguing to the last 

 degree, as their varieties are so numerous, and 

 their differences so small, to go through a par- 

 ticular description of each. In this case it will 

 be best to give a history of the foremost in 

 each class ; at the same time marking the dis- 

 tinctions in every species. By this we shall 

 avoid a tedious repetition of similar characters, 

 and consider the manners and the oddities of 

 .his fantastic tribe in general points of view ; 

 where we shall perceive how nearly they ap- 

 proach to the human figure, and how little 

 they benefit by the approximation. The fore- 

 most of the Ape kind is 



THE OURAN OUTANG, 



OR WILD MAN OF THE WOODS. 



THIS name seems to have been given to 

 various animals, agreeing in one common 

 character of walking upright, but coming from 

 different countries, and of very different pro- 

 portions and powers. The TROGLODYTE of 

 Bontius, the DRILL of Purchas, and the PIGMY 

 of Tyson, have all received this general name ; 

 and have been ranked, by some naturalists, 

 under one general description. If we read 

 the accounts of many remote travellers, under 

 this name we are presented with a formidable 

 animal, from six to eight feet high ; if we examine 

 the books of such as have described it nearer 

 home, we find it a pigmy not above three. In 

 this diversity we must be content to blend 

 their various descriptions into one general ac- 

 count ; observing, at the same time, that we 

 have no reason to doubt any of their relations, 

 although we are puzzled which to follow. 



The Ouran Outang, which of all other ani- 

 mals most nearly approaches to the human 

 race, is seen of different sizes, from three to 

 seven feet high. In general, however, its 

 stature is less than that of a man ; but its 

 strength and agility much greater. Travellers, 

 who have seen various kinds of these animals 

 in their native solitudes, give us surprising re- 

 lations of their force, their swiftness, their ad- 

 dress, and their ferocity. Naturalists, who 

 have observed their form and manners at 

 home, have been as much struck with their 

 patient, pliant, imitative dispositions ; with 

 thf'ir appearance and conformation, so nearly 

 human. Of the smallest sort of these animals 



we have had several, at different times, brought 

 into this country, all nearly alike ; but that 

 observed by Dr. Tyson, is the best known, 

 having been described with the greatest exact- 

 ness. 



The animal which was described by that 

 learned physician, was brought from Angola 

 in Africa, where it had been taken in the in- 

 ternal parts of the country, in company with a 

 female of the same kind, that died by the w ay. 

 The body was covered with hair, which was 

 of a coal-black colour, more resembling human 

 hair than that of brutes. It bore a still stronger 

 similitude in its different lengths ; for in those 

 places where it is longest on the human species, 

 it was also longest in this ; as on the head, the 

 upper lip, the chin, and the pubes. The face 

 was like that of a man, the forehead larger, 

 and the head round. The upper and lower 

 jaw were not so prominent as in monkeys ; 

 but flat, like those of a man. The ears were 

 like those of a man, in most respects ; and the 

 teeth had more resemblance to the human than 

 those of any other creature. The bending of 

 the arms and legs were just the same as in a 

 man ; and, in short, the animal, at first view, 

 presented a figure entirely human. 



In order to discover its differences, it was 

 necessary to take a closer survey ; and then 

 the imperfections of its form began to appear. 

 The first obvious difference was in the flatness 

 of the nose ; the next in the lowness of the 

 forehead, and the wanting the prominence of 

 the chin. The ears were proportion ably too 

 large ; the eyes too close to each other ; and 

 the interval between the nose and mouth too 

 great. The body and limbs differed, in the 

 thighs being too short, and the arms too long ; 

 in the thumb being too little, and the palm of 

 the hand too narrow. The feet also were 

 rather more like hands than feet ; and the ani- 

 mal, if we may judge from the figure, bent too 

 much upon its haunches. 



When this creature was examined anatomi- 

 cally, a surprising similitude was seen to pre- 

 vail in its internal conformation. It differed 

 from man in the number of its ribs, having 

 thirteen ; whereas, in man, there are but 

 twelve. The vertebrae of the neck also were 

 shorter, the bones of the pelvis narrower, the 

 orbits of the eyes were deeper, the kidneys 

 were rounder, the urinary and gall bladders 

 were longer and smaller, and the ureters of a 



