THE BED OK ASIATIC ORANG-OUTANG. 117 



beyond his nest, watching whoever might pass under, 

 and when he saw any one with fruit, would descend 

 to obtain a share of it. He always retired for the 

 night at sunset, or sooner if he had been well fed ; and 

 rose with the sun, and visited those from whom he 

 habitually received food. 



" On board ship, he commonly slept at the mast- 

 head, after wrapping himself in a sail. In making 

 his bed, he used the greatest pains to remove every 

 thing out of his way that might render the surface on 

 which he intended to lie uneven ; and having satisfied 

 himself with this part of his arrangement, spread out 

 the sail, and lying down upon it on his back, drew it 

 over his body. Sometimes I preoccupied his bed, and 

 teased him by refusing to give it up. On these occa- 

 sions he would endeavour to pull the sail from under 

 me, or to force me from it, and would not rest till I 

 had resigned it ; if it was large enough for both, he 

 would quietly lie by my side. If all the sails happen- 

 ed to be set, he would hunt about for some other 

 covering, and either steal one of the sailors' jackets or 

 shirts that happened to be drying, or empty a ham- 

 mock of its blankets. Off the Cape of Good Hope, 

 he suffered much from a low temperature, especially 

 early in the morning, when he would descend from 

 the mast, shuddering with cold, and running up to 

 any one of his friends, climb into their arms, and 

 clasping them closely, derive warmth from their 



