GORILLA 51 



also able to jump to the ground from considerable heights without harm ; an adult 

 having once been seen to leap from a height of 10 or 12 yards before dis- 

 appearing in the bushes. When driven to bay, the gorilla is no doubt a most 

 formidable adversary, but many stories in regard to its ferocity are certainly 

 exaggerated. According to recent reports, gorillas never attack human beings 

 unprovoked; on the contrary, they avoid meeting them, and as a rule hasten 

 away as soon as they become aware of man's approach, uttering peculiar guttural 

 sounds, which probably denote fear. 



The German explorer Koppenfelt was probably the first European to kill 

 gorillas, of which he shot four in 1874. Before that date gorillas had been shot 

 by negroes, but in most cases, at all events, only on accidental occasions, and not 

 as the result of regular hunting for the animal. Many gorillas are probably killed 

 by spears suspended in paths frequented by these animals, so as to pierce the 

 back ; and the gorillas of which the skins were received at the British Museum 

 from du Chaillu had been killed in this manner. 



The following notes were written by a gentleman who resided for some time 

 in the Cameruns : — 



" One evening in May 1887 a young gorilla was brought to me at Mambe for 

 sale, and I bought it for a few shillings in goods. Well do I remember its bullet- 

 shaped head, black face, great hairy chest, and its grip like iron when I shook 

 hands with it. It was only a baby gorilla, about 3 feet 6 inches high, and lived 

 about two months, when it succumbed to an attack of diarrhoea. We fed it for 

 some time on a small red nut which is found in the bush, and of which it eats only 

 the kernel (its natural food I believe), and then tried to accustom it to other food 

 such as tinned milk, bananas, etc. Near where I lived at this time, and right in 

 the gorilla-country, were two white traders who devoted a good deal of time to 

 hunting various animals, and, among others, the gorilla. I was told that the 

 following was one of the means adopted to catch one alive. On discovering the 

 track of a gorilla with a lot of mongrel dogs, of which there are plenty on the west 

 coast, they would surround the gorilla, when the curs would yelp and bark at its 

 heels ; then a number of natives would move in a circle with a long rope, gradually 

 coming closer and closer until the gorilla was suddenly made fast and thrown help- 

 less to the ground. It is not owing to the scarcity of gorillas that we do not see 

 them oftener in Europe. The difficulty is to find a proper substitute for their 

 natural food ; another drawback being that, so far as my experience goes, they 

 become very sulky in captivity. The usual plan adopted when sending one over 

 to Europe is to put a chimpanzi in the cage for company." 



A captive gorilla brought some years ago to the station of Chinseoseo in Loango 

 arrived in a deplorable state ; but by means of the milk of a goat, and plenty of 

 wild and other fruit, its owners succeeded in restoring its health. This animal was 

 allowed to run about unchained, and under little supervision, on the ship which 

 took it to Europe. It was apparently very gentle, and although independent, never 

 savage. At meals it behaved very decently : it helped itself from a plate, clutch- 

 ing the food with its thumb and two fingers, and drank from a small basin which 

 it raised to its mouth and put back in its place unbroken. From very small dishes, 

 however, it used to suck the water by bending its mouth down to them. It had a 



