OF NATURAL HISTORY. 437 



The bodies of men, though not fo duftile as their minds, are 

 capable, when properly managed by early culture, of wonderful ex- 

 ertions. Men, accuftomed to live in poliftied focieties, have little or 

 no idea of the activity, the courage, the patience, and the perfe- 

 verlng induftry of favages, when fimply occupied in hunting wild 

 animals for food to themfelves and their families. The hunger, the 

 fatigue, the hardfliips, which they not only endure, but defpife with 

 fortitude, would amaze and terrify the imagination of any civilized 

 European. 



Befide man, many other animals are capable of being intruded. 

 The ape-kind, and efpecially the larger fpecies of them, imitate the 

 actions of men without any inftruftion. This imitation they are 

 enabled to perform with the greater exadnefs, on account of their 

 ftrudture. The orang-outang, a native of the fouthern regions of 

 Africa and India, is as tall and as ftrong as a man. He has no tail-. 

 His face is flat. His arms, hands, toes, and nails, are perfedly fimi- 

 lar to ours. He walks conftantly on end ; and the features of his 

 vifage make a near approach to thofe of the human countenance. 

 He has a beard on his chin, and no more hair on his body than 

 men have when in a ftate of nature. He knows how to bear arms, 

 to attack his enemies with ftones, and to defend himfelf with a club. 

 Of all the apes, the orang-outang, or nvild man,, as he is called by 

 the Indians, has the greateft refemblance to man both in the ftruc- 

 ture of his body and in his manners. There are two fuppofed fpe- 

 cies of orang-outang, a larger and a fmaller. The latter has been 

 feveral times brought to Europe, and accurate defcriptions have been 

 given both of his external and internal parts. But, with regard to 

 the larger kind, who is faid to exceed the ordinary ftature of man^ 

 we have nothing to rely on but. the relations of travellers. Bontius-, 

 who was chief phyficlan in Batavia, affirms exprefsly, that he faw,, 

 wkh admiration, feveral individuals of this fpecies walking on their 



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