chap, viii.] MONKEYS AND APES. 209 



running along the pole with a ring, so that it could move 

 easily, it became more contented, and would swing itself 

 about with great rapidity. It ate almost any kind of fruit 

 and rice, and I was in hopes to have brought it to England, 

 but it died just before I started. It took a dislike to me 

 at first, which I tried to get over by feeding it constantly 

 myself. One day, however, it bit me so sharply while giving 

 it food, that I lost patience and gave it rather a severe 

 beating, which I regretted afterwards, as from that time it 

 disliked me more than ever. It would allow my Malay 

 boys to play with it, and for hours together would swin" 

 by its arms from pole to pole and on to the rafters of the 

 verandah, with so much ease and rapidity, that it Avas a 

 constant source of amusement to us. When I returned to 

 Singapore it attracted great attention, as no one had seen 

 a Siamang alive before, although it is not uncommon in 

 some parts of the Malay peninsula. 



As the Orang-utan is known to inhabit Sumatra, and 

 was in fact first discovered there, I made many inquiries 

 about it; but none of the natives had ever heard of such an 

 animal, nor could I find any of the Dutch officials who 

 knew anything about it. We may conclude, therefore, that 

 it does not inhabit the great forest plains in the east of 

 Sumatra where one would naturally expect to find it, but 



is probably confined to a limited region in the north-west 



a part of the island entirely in the hands of native rulers. 

 vol. I. p 



