44 THE ORAN- OTAN. 



sometimes steal the Negresses, and carry them ofF 

 into the woods *. A Negro boy was carried off by 

 an Oran Otan, and lived with them upwards of a 

 year ; on his return he described many of them as 

 being as tall and more bulky than a Man, and he 

 declared that they did not attempt to injure him in 

 ^ny respect-f-. The young are said to hang on the 

 belly of the dam, with their hands fast clasped 

 about her ; and whenever the females are killed these 

 will always suffer themselves to be taken :j:. 



This is all the information that I have been able 

 to collect respecting the Oran Otan in its wild state : 

 the following arc accounts of it therefore in a state 

 of captivity and domestication. 



The manners of the Oran Otan, when in con- 

 finement, arc gentle, and, for the most part, harm- 

 less, perfectly devoid of that disgusting ferocity so 

 conspicuous in some of the larger Baboons and 

 Monkies. It is a mild and docile animal, and may 

 be taught to perform with dexterity a variety of ea- 

 tertaining actions in domestic life. 



O 



Dr. Tyson, who, about a century ago, gave a very 

 exact description of a young Oran Otan then exhi- 

 bited in London, assures us, that, in many of its ac- 

 tions, it seemed to display a very high degree of 

 sagacity, and in its disposition was exceedingly 

 mild. The most gentle creature, says he, that could 

 be. Those that he knew on board the vessel that 

 ^ brought him over he would embrace with the great- 

 est tenderness : and, although there were Monkies 



• reiui. Quad. i. 1O7 -f Buft". Quad. viii. 83.-J Purcl as. ii. gSiJ. 



