THE APES. MAMMALIA. THE SIAMANG. 



25 



to Mr. Owen, as quoted by Mr. Blyth, they occasion- 

 ally attack the natives, and bite them severely ; and 

 Mr. Owen himself was once surrounded by a troop of 

 them, which he disturbed whilst washing themselves 

 in a stream, and felt convinced that, had he not taken 

 to his heels, they would have attacked him. The same 

 gentleman states that these apes appear to destroy 

 large snakes. His attention was once attracted by the 

 noise made by them in some trees over his head. On 

 stopping to examine into the cause of the uproar, he 

 was disagreeably startled by the sudden fall of a python, 

 six or seven feet in length, which was bitten in many 

 places, and nearly dead. 



According to Dr. Burrough the hoolocs walk erect 

 with great ease, balancing themselves by raising their 

 urms above their heads ; but if urged to greater speed 

 they drop their hands to the ground, and assist them- 

 selves forward, jumping rather than running. If they 

 succeed in making their way to a grove of trees, they 

 swing with such astonishing rapidity from branch to 

 branch and from tree to tree, that they are soon lost 

 in the forest. In confinement they are gentle and 

 tractable, and appear to entertain some affection for 

 their master. In drinking they dip their hands into 

 the liquid and then suck their fingers ; but when very 

 thirsty, they will take up the vessel containing their drink 

 with both hands, and carry it to their lips, so as to get 

 a more considerable draught. A specimen in Dr. 

 Burrough's possession was fed principally upon fruits, 

 boiled rice, and bread and milk, but would also eat 

 cooked animal food, especially chicken and fried fish ; 

 he rejected beef and pork; he liked eggs, coffee, and 

 chocolate, and was very fond of insects, searching in 

 the crevices for spiders, and if a fly chanced to come 

 within his reach, would dexterously catch it in one 

 hand. Hence we may infer, that insects constitute 

 a portion of the natural food of the hooloc, and 

 probably also of the other gibbons. The cry of the 

 specimen just referred to, was a loud and shrill whoo- 

 whoo, whoo-whoo. 



The hooloc was considered by Mr. Ogilby to be 

 probably the origin of Pliny's Scyritai, and described by 

 him, in consequence, under the name of Hylobates 

 Scyritiu. 



THE SIAMANG (Hylobaies Syndactylus] is the largest 

 and most powerful species of the genus, and is entirely 

 of a black colour, with the exception of a few hairs of 

 a reddish tinge upon the eyebrows and chin. The 

 hair is long and coarse, but glossy; the belly is nearly 

 naked, and the throat completely so ; it incloses a 

 large sac communicating with the larynx, which can 

 be filled with air at the pleasure of the animal, and 

 when thus distended forms a huge goitre-like swelling 

 of the neck. This sac, which exactly resembles that 

 of the orang-outan, is supposed to assist in augmenting 

 the power of the tremendous voice of this animal ; it 

 also indicates an approach, on the part of the siamang, 

 to the higher apes, which, like him, occur in the forests 

 of Sumatra. 



The siamang was the first species of gibbon in 



which the union of the first and second digits of the 



hinder hands was noticed ; and indeed this character is 



presented by this animal so much more strongly than 



VOL. I. 



in the other species of the genus, that it well deserves 

 the name of Syndactylus, applied to it by Sir Stamford 

 Baffles. This peculiarity has even induced Dr. Gray 

 and M. Boitard to propose the formation of a separate 

 genus for its reception. 



M. Duvaucel, who discovered this species in the 

 neighbourhood of Bencoolen in Sumatra, states that the 

 siamangs are very common in the forests, where they 

 assemble in numerous troops, led by a chief, whom the 

 Malays believe to be invulnerable, probably because he 

 is more powerful, active, and difficult to get at than the 

 rest. These troops salute the rising and setting sun 

 with the most terrific cries, which may be heard at a 

 distance of several miles, and which, when near, stun 

 those whom they do not frighten. This is the morning 

 call of the mountain Malays, but to the inhabitants of 

 the towns it is a most insupportable annoyance. By way 

 of compensation, they preserve a most profound silence 

 in the daytime, at least if their repose is not disturbed. 

 M. Duvaucel adds, that they are slow and heavy in 

 their gait, so that they may be easily caught when 

 surprised, especially on the ground ; but, on the other 

 hand, their vigilance is so great, and their sense of 

 hearing so delicate, that it is by no means an easy 

 matter to surprise them, as at the least noise, even 

 though it be at a mile's distance, they take to flight. 

 On the ground they advance by jerks, using their long 

 arms like crutches. When one of a troop is wounded 

 it is immediately abandoned by the rest, unless it 

 happens to be a young one, when the mother stops, 

 falls with it, and, uttering the most lamentable cries, 

 attacks the enemy with open mouth and extended 

 arms. Under ordinary circumstances also, the females, 

 according to M. Duvaucel, bestow an amount of care 

 upon their offspring which seems almost to belong to a 

 rational sentiment. He says " II is a curious and 

 interesting spectacle to see the females carry their 

 young to the river, wash their faces in spite of their 

 childish outcries, and altogether bestow upon their 

 cleanliness a time and attention, which, in many cases, 

 the children of our own species might well envy." 



In confinement the siamang, according to M. Duvau- 

 cel, is gentle, but stupid and sluggish ; in fact, from his 

 account it would appear, that the very gentleness of 

 the animal is merely due to its apathy. Mr. George 

 Bennett, however, who obtained a specimen of this 

 animal at Singapore in 1830, has published a far more 

 favourable account of its endowments. Mr. Bennett de- 

 scribes his specimen as always walking erect when on a 

 level surface, sometimes holding his arms down so as to 

 assist himself, by touching the ground with his knuckles 

 occasionally, but more usually raising them over his 

 head, ready to seize a rope and climb up on the 

 approach of danger. This animal preferred vegetable 

 food, and was especially fond of carrots ; when these 

 were put upon the table for dinner, the siamang, 

 although usually very decorous in his behaviour, 

 immediately forgot his good manners, and it was not 

 without some difficulty that he could be prevented 

 from attacking them uninvited. " A piece of carrot," 

 says Mr. Bennett, " would draw him from one end of 

 the table to the other, over which he would walk with- 

 out disturbing a single article, although the ship was 



D 



