16 HABITS OF THE GORILLA. 



at distant intervals and then to disappear ; " of which kind," it is said, " there are still 

 in Ethiopia." But by degrees the truthfulness of the narrative was made clear ; 

 detached bones were discovered and sent to Europe, and at last the complete animal 

 made its appearance. Indeed, we are much indebted to this straightforward and simple- 

 minded sailor, for his unadorned narrative, which forms such a favorable contrast to 

 the travellers' tales of later voyagers, who on some small substratum of truth raised 

 such enormous fictions as the monopods, the pigmies and cranes, the acephali, and 

 other prodigies. For a vivid description, and graphic though rude figures of these 

 and many other monsters, the reader is referred to the " Nuremberg Chronicle." 



Perhaps it may be of this animal that the following history is narrated : 



" A certain ape after a shipwreck, swimming to land, was seen by a countryman, 

 and thinking him to be a man in the water, gave him his hand to save him, yet in the 

 meantime asked him what countryman he was, who answered he was an Athenian. 

 1 Well,' said the man, * dost thou know Pirceus ? ' (which is a port in Athens). 



" ' Very well,' said the ape, * and his wife, friends, and children ; ' whereat the man 

 being moved, did what he could to drown him." 



At present we have but a very slight acquaintance with the mode of life adopted by 

 the Gorilla in a wild state, or even with its food. For a knowledge of the habits of 

 animals is only to be gained by a long residence in their vicinity, and by careful 

 watching. With some creatures this is an easy task, but there are some which are so 

 wary, so active, and so fierce, that a close inspection is almost an impossibility. 

 Among the worst of such objects is the Gorilla. In the first place, it is only to be 

 found in the thickest jungles of the Gaboon, far from man and his habitations. Then, 

 it is wary, as are all the apes, and is said to be so ferocious, that if it sees a man, it 

 immediately attacks him, so that there would be little time for gaining any knowledge 

 of the creature's domestic habits, and scarcely any likelihood of surviving to tell the 

 result of the investigation. 



To judge by the structure of the skeleton, and of the entire form, the strength of 

 an adult male must be prodigious. The teeth are heavy and powerful, and the great 

 canines or tusks are considerably more than an inch in their projection from the jaw. 

 The jaw-bone, too, is enormously developed, and the strength of the muscles that 

 move it is indicated by the deep bony ridges that run over the top of the skull, and 

 in different parts of the head. As is usual among such animals, the tusks of the male 

 Gorilla are nearly double the size of those of the female ape. 



Although the body is comparatively small, as are the hinder legs, yet the breadth of 

 shoulder and length of arm are singularly great; while an ordinary human hand placed 

 on that of the ape, dwindles down to insignificance before the huge muscular paw. 

 The thumb of the hinder paws is enormously large, as is well shown in the en- 

 graving. 



There is a treacherous and cruel aspect about this hind foot, with its enormous 

 thumb ; and if all tales be true, the foot belies not its character. The natives of the 

 Gaboon country hold the Gorilla in great dread, fearing it even more than the lion 

 itself, on account of its furtively murderous disposition. 



Concealed among the thick branches of the forest trees, the Gorilla, itself unseen, 

 watches the approach of the unsuspecting negro. Should he pass under the tree, woe 

 betide him ; for the Gorilla lets down its terrible hind foot, grasps its victim round the 

 throat, lifts him from the earth, and finally drops him on the ground, dead. 



Sheer malignity must prompt the animal to such a deed, for it cares not to eat the 

 dead man's flesh ; but finds a fiendish gratification in the mere act of killing. It is a 

 kind of sporting ; though the game is of a better quality than that which is usually 

 chased over the fields, shot in the air, or hooked out of the water ; not to be eaten, but 

 for the sport. 



Such a deed as the capture of an adult Gorilla has never been attempted, and much 

 less achieved, by the human inhabitants of the same land. There are many reasons 

 for this circumstance. 



In the first place, the negroes, seeing that the Gorilla is possessed of strength, fero- 

 city, and pitiless cruelty, conceive that the animal must be inspirited by the soul of one 



