10 



THE GORILLA. 



The first in order, as well as the largest, of the Apes, is the enor- 

 mous ape from AYestern Africa, the Gorilla. The first modern writer 

 who brought the Gorilla before the notice of the public seems to he 

 Mr. Bowdich, the well-known African traveller ; for it is evidently of 

 the Gorilla that he speaks under the name of Ingheena. The natives 

 of the Gaboon and its vicinity use the name Gina when mentioning 

 the Gorilla. The many tales, too, that are told of the habits, the 



gigantic strength, 

 and the general 

 appearance of the 

 Ingheena, are pre- 

 cisely those which 

 are related of sim- 

 ilar attributes in 

 the Gorilla. 



The outline of 

 the Gorilla's face 

 is most brutal in 

 character, and en- 

 tirely destroys the 

 slight resemblance 

 tothe human coun- 

 tenance which the 

 full form exhibits. 

 As in the Chim- 

 pansee, an ape 

 which is placed in 

 the same genus 

 with the Gorilla, 

 the color of the 

 hair is nearly 

 black; but in some 



m r. /mi. ^ •» x liarhts, and during 



The Gorilla (Troglodytes Gorilla). .1 tp p^i • 



^ ^ ^ ^ the life of the ani- 



mal, it assumes a lighter tinge of grayish brown, on account of the 

 admixture of variously-colored hairs. On the top of the head and 

 the side of the cheeks it assumes a grizzly hue. The length of the 

 hair is not very great, considering the size of the animal, it being not 

 more than two or three inches. 



As to the habits of the Gorilla many conflicting tales have been 

 told, and many have been the consequent controversies. In order to 

 settle the disputed questions, Mr. Winwood Keade undertook a journey 

 to Western Africa, where he remained for a considerable time. After 

 careful investigation, he sums up the history of the animal as follows : 



