DWELLINGS. 1 79 



this preliminary labour is accomplished, he collects 

 dead wood or breaks up branches and adds them to 

 the first. Before commencing he had taken care 

 when choosing the site that the whole was so 

 arranged that a fork was within reach to sustain the 

 roof. He thus constructs a very sufficient shelter. 

 These apes are sociable and prefer to live in each 

 other's neighbourhood. They even go on excursions 

 in rather large bands. Notwithstanding this, more 

 than one or two cabins are never seen on the same 

 tree ; perhaps this is because the complicated con- 

 ditions required for the construction are not likely 

 to be realised several times on the same tree ; 

 perhaps also it is a desire for independence which 

 impels the Chimpanzees not to live too near to each 

 other.^ 



The Troglodytes calvus, a relative of the preceding, 

 inhabiting the same regions, as described by Du 

 Chaillu, shows still more skill in raising his roof. A 

 tree is always chosen for support. He breaks off 

 boughs and fastens them by one end to the trunk, by 

 the other to a large branch. To fix all these pieces 

 he employs very strong creepers, which grow in 

 abundance in his forests. Above this framework, which 

 indicates remarkable ingenuity, the animal piles up 

 large leaves, forming in layers well pressed down and 

 quite impenetrable" to the rain. The whole has the 

 appearance of an open parasol. The ape sits on a 

 branch beneath his handiwork, supporting himself 

 against the trunk with one arm. He has thus an 

 excellent shelter against the mid-day sun as well as 

 against tropical showers. Male and female each 



^ Savage, "Observations on the External Characters and Habits of 

 the Troglodytes niger" Boslon Journal Nat. Hist., 1843, pp. 362-376. 



