238 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



a few hours' conversation with the men with tails to 

 the intercourse of the most brilliant wits of Europe. Even 

 Linnaeus presents us with a homo troglodytes who shares 

 with us in all the boasted privileges of humanity, and will 

 one day wrest from our monopolizing hands the empire of 

 the world. 



But these wonderful wild men of the woods have lost 

 much of their marvellous character when subjected to 

 the examination of attentive and judicious naturalists. On 

 careful observation of his habits and actions, we find that 

 the ape so far from equalling man, is by no means in the 

 first rank among the lower animals for intelligence and do- 

 cility. The individuals observed upon were all, it must be 

 remembered, young animals. They performed, it is true, cer- 

 tain actions at the bidding of their keeper, to which they 

 had been trained by gentleness or force, but a number of 

 other animals do the same, and if the performances of the 

 ape in this way, as well as its natural and unforced 

 actions, seem more imposing, it results from his general ap- 

 proximation, particularly in the bones, to the human 

 figure. The actions of a well-trained dog or of an elephant 

 are in reality much more intellectual and wonderful. They 

 discover much more sagacity, and are performed by ani- 

 mals very differently provided in mechanical facilities re- 

 sulting from peculiarity of structure. 



We shall proceed with a few observations on each of the 

 several species mentioned by Cuvier in the text, and add 

 thereto some notices of others which belong to this sub- 

 division and are not described by him. 



The Orang Outang, which besides its Linnaean synonym 

 was called Jocko, by Buffon, is the homo sylvestris of Ed- 

 wards, and has been designated by various barbarous appel- 

 latives not necessary to be noticed, is of the average height 

 mentioned in the text (three to four feet French). It must 

 be remembered, however, that all the individuals of this 



