THE GORILLA 43 



jaws, which probably may only be true of the cheap 

 weapons which are specially manufactured for supply to 

 the natives. It is a difficult matter to afford actual 

 evidence of men being killed by this gigantic ape ; but 

 the fact that with its powerful hands and teeth it is a 

 match for the leopard in open combat is quite sufficient 

 proof of its courage and fighting capabilities. 



It is very certain that the Gorilla is held in wholesome 

 dread by the negro inhabitants. They tell fabulous tales 

 of it carrying away men and women into the forests ; 

 and that from the trees it will hang down to seize and 

 strangle passing travellers. When the Gorilla dies its 

 friends bury it under a heap of loose leaves ; and should 

 Gorillas kill a negro they will give him the same rude 

 burial. 



Our knowledge of the animal is still limited ; a live 

 one was not brought to Europe until 1876. It is im- 

 possible to tame an adult, and the few young ones that 

 have been brought to various zoological collections have 

 always fallen victims to lung disease within eighteen 

 months. 



Probably even additional familiarity with the habits of 

 the Gorilla will not cause him to rise greatly in our estima- 

 tion. Even the natives call him 'The Stupid Old Man/ 

 He is particularly fond of sugar-canes, and occasionally 

 raids the plantations in the settled districts. He attempts 

 to take in his arms both cut and uncut canes, and when the 

 strongly rooted dainty defeats his purpose he is unable 

 to account for it, flies into a rage, and goes away empty- 

 handed. He lives in a rainy region, and though he practically 

 builds a house, he has not the wit to add a roof. If the 

 animal should happen upon a fire which the natives have 

 left he will enjoy the warmth of it as long as there is a 

 spark left, but he lacks the sense to feed the fire, though 

 boundless fuel surrounds him. Man-like the Gorilla may be 

 in some structural respects, but in intelligence he is the 

 veriest brute. From time immemorial the animals have 

 lived in communities something like men, but during 

 countless ages they have learnt nothing; they remain as 

 brutish as ever were their ancestors. 



