252 THE STORY OF THE GORILLA. 



missing link," — long since extinct, and as much unlike any living ape, as 

 such apes are unlike man himself. 



That the higher apes are closely related in their bodily structure to- man 

 is obvious to all, and it is a fact that the differences between some of these 

 apes and man are of far less importance than those by which the lower 

 monkeys are separated from the higher apes. It has, indeed, been attempted 

 to show^ that apes and monkeys are sharply distinguished from man by the 

 circumstance that while man is two-handed, apes and monkeys are four- 

 handed. The difference between the foot of one of the larger apes and that 

 of man is, however, merely one of degree, and is much less than, that between 

 the apes and the lowest representatives of the order. 



Most of the monkey tribe are inhabitants of forest regions. Aided bv 

 their hand-like feet, all of them are expert climbers, and many, like the 

 oriental gibbons and the South American spider-monkeys, but rarely leave 

 the trees, leaping from bough to bough, and thus from tree to tree, far above 

 the heads of the travelers below, to whom their presence is made known 

 only by their continual howling or chattering. The climbing powers of the 

 South American monkeys are largely aided by their prehensile tails, which 

 serve the purpose of a fifth limb. Owing tO' the warmth of the regions in 

 which most of them dwell, monkeys never hibernate. Contrary, however, 

 to what is often supposed to be the case, several of the smaller species are 

 expert swimmers, and will fearlessly cross comparatively large rivers. 



When the human skeleton is contrasted with that of the ape the. size of 

 the ape's forearm is the most striking point of difference. Next comes the 

 shape of the skull and the ring of bone surrounding the sockets of the eyes. 

 The number of teeth differs in the various species. In the very young the 

 resemblance to man is much greater than in the adult ape. 



Dr. Robert Hartmann, of Berlin, who has devoted much attention to 

 the man-like apes, observes that *'in the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and the 

 orang-outan, the outer form is subject to modifications, according to the 

 age and sex. The difference between the sexes is most strongly marked in 

 the gorilla, and these differences are least apparent in the gibbons. When 

 a young male gorilla is compared with an aged animal of the same species we 

 are almost tempted to believe that we have to do with twO' entirely different 

 creatures. While the young male still shows a resemblance to the human 

 structure, and develops in its bodily habits the same qualities which gen- 

 erally characterize the short-tailed apes of the Old World, with the exception 

 of the baboon, the aged male is otherwise formed. In the latter case the 



