Skeleton of the Gorilla, 39 



harmony with this great seat of sensation and volition. 

 The examination of the skull would then lead us to infer 

 a great predominance of brutal instincts in the gorilla. 

 How far does this agree with what is known of its habits ? 

 Du Chaillu says, ' I think the gorilla utterly untameable.' 

 Of a young one in captivity, not yet three years old, two 

 feet six inches high, and possessed, for its age, of most 

 extraordinary strength and muscular development, he 

 says : ' He sat in his corner looking wickedly out of his 

 grey eyes, and I never saw a more morose or ill-tempered 

 face than had this little beast. The second day he was 

 fiercer than the first. He rushed savagely at anyone who 

 stood, even for a moment, near his cage, and seemed ready 

 to tear us all to pieces.' Further on — ' I never saw so 

 furious a beast in my life as he was. He darted at everyone 

 who came near, bit the bamboos of the house, glared at us 

 with venomous and sullen eyes, and in every motion showed 

 a temper thoroughly wicked and malicious. As there was 

 no change in this for two days thereafter but continual 

 moroseness, I tried what starvation would do towards 

 breaking his spirit. He always snarled at me, and only 

 when hungry would he take the choicest food from my 

 hands. Ten days after he was chained he died suddenly. 

 To the last he continued utterly untameable.' Of the 

 Vertehrce. — In the male there are seven in the cervical region, 

 which are remarkable for their enormous spinous processes ; 

 in the dovs2il fourteen, i.e. vertebrae articulated to movable 

 ribs, four lumbar, and five sacral ; in all, thirty. In the 

 female there are seven cervical, thirteen dorsal or costal, 

 four lumbar, and five sacral ; in alj, tiventy-nhie. — In 

 man, seven cervical, twelve dorsal, _/ii'e lumbar, and five sacral ; 

 in all, twenty-nine. There is a great ajpproach to man in 

 the lower dorsal and ujjper lumbar vertehrce, at the same 

 time that there is a great departure from macaque. There 

 are many points of great interest to the student in this region 

 of the three skeletons before you, chiefly in the mode of 

 interarticulation. Time will pei-mit me of only thus allud- 

 ing to them. Although there are usually only twenty -nine 

 bones in these regions of the spinal column in man, we have 

 a skeleton in the University Museum possessing thirty, the 

 additional one being in the sacrum ; the number of costal 

 vertebrae are, however, only twelve. The Sacrum in the 

 gorilla is much narrower and less curved than in man, 

 afibrding a very poor base of S'Uppoit to the vertebrae above. 



