LIFE IN CAPTIVITY. 275 



back and arms was brushed out. At first it clung 

 helplessly by all-fours to whatever it could get hold of, 

 and Wallace had to be always on the watch to save 

 his beard. When restless, it worked its hands above 

 in the air, in search of something to hold, and if it 

 got hold of a stick or piece of cloth with two or three 

 of its hands, it was perfectly happy. In default of 

 anything else, it nursed its own foot, and after a while 

 it often folded its arms, and seized with each hand the 

 long hair which grew below the opposite shoulder. 

 The strength of the creature's gripe soon diminished, 

 however, and Wallace had to invent expedients for 

 giving it exercise and strengthening its limbs. 

 With this object he made a short ladder of three or 

 four rounds, to which he suspended the young orang 

 for a quarter of an hour at a time. At first it was 

 pleased, but finding itself unable to assume a com- 

 fortable position when holding on by all four hands, 

 it let go with one after another and at last fell to 

 the ground. Often, when only hanging by two 

 hands, it let go with one, in order to cross it over 

 the opposite shoulder, and get hold of its own hair, 

 and on finding this much more agreeable than the 

 piece of wood, it let go with the other, and so fell to 

 the ground, where it lay on its back with folded 

 arms, quite content and apparently none the worse 

 for its numerous tumbles. 



When Wallace saw how fond the creature was of 

 hair, he endeavoured to construct an artificial mother 

 by stitching together a piece of buffalo hide which 

 he suspended about a foot from the gsonnd. At 

 first this seemed quite successful, since the small 



