18 THE GORILLA. 



it was quite needless to attribute to any other cause the 

 singular deterioration which I had remarked in the 

 exterior of the canine teeth of these animals," 



Some days after this fruitless encounter, the natives 

 reported to Du Chaillu that a very -large gorilla had 

 been seen many times in the forest ten miles to the 

 east. The traveller, who was just then in search of 

 such a subject for his collection, at once resolved to go 

 and look after this fellow. 



Accompanied by a negro named Gambo, he hunted 

 for many hours, when at length, in a thicket at the 

 bottom of an obscure ravine, he suddenly found him- 

 self face to face with two gorillas male and female. 

 These had already perceived them : the female uttered 

 a cry of alarm and fled through the woods. As to the 

 male, which was just the one which M. du Chaillu 

 wanted, he showed no intention to fly. He rose slowly, 

 and facing the disturbers of his retreat, he uttered a 

 roar of rage. The hunters stood side by side awaiting 

 the attack of the monster. Imperfectly seen in the 

 dim half-light of the ravine, his hideous features 

 working with rage, his eyes shining with a sombre fire, 

 his satyr-like face violently contracted, he was alto- 

 gether frightful. 



He advanced by jerks, as is the custom of these 

 animals, and halting from time to time to beat his fists 

 on his vast breast, which emitted a dull hollow sound, 



