BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 51 



we think of those still more surprising and remark- 

 able instincts by which many of them are distin- 

 guished. In their internal formation some of this 

 order are so strikingly analogous to the human 

 body, that it is said, some skill in physiology is ne- 

 cessary to be able to notice the difference ; and in 

 the external appearance of the Orang-outang, or 

 Wild -man of the Woods, there is certainly no little 

 resemblance. So much, indeed, does the external 

 appearance of this creature resemble the human, 

 that " the Negroes imagine them to be a foreign 

 nation, come to inhabit their country, and that they 

 do not speak for fear of being compelled to work." 

 They are also the only animals that imitate man 

 in the use of weapons otherwise than what are na- 

 tural ; frequently attacking their enemies with sticks 

 and stones. That they possess an eminent share of 

 natural sagacity in the absence of reason, is evident 

 from the manner in which they make sheds for shel- 

 ter, and go to sleep in trees for security, as well as 

 from their descending from the mountains, when 

 they no longer find fruits, to the sea shore in search 

 of shell-fish. In the passage of one of these ani- 

 mals from Angola to England, it made many friends 

 on board, and seemed to despise the monkies of a 

 lower species, by avoiding that part of the ship 

 where they were confined. Buffon describes one of 

 these animals which he saw, as sitting down at table, 

 unfolding his napkin, wiping his lips, making use 

 of a fork or spoon, pouring' out his drink into a 

 glass, touching glasses with the person who drank 



