590 MAMMALIA. 



Bat little is known as to their habits in a wild state. It is certain, 

 however, that they climb trees with extreme agility, passing from 

 one to another with an astonishing degree of alacrity, and that 

 they feed on fruits. It also appears to be proved by the contests 

 that have taken place with some isolated individuals, that they are 

 endowed with prodigious strength, so as to be able to twist a spear 

 or a gun from its possessor ; and that their vital power is so great 

 that there is danger in approaching them, even when they appear 

 to be in the last stage of exhaustion from loss of blood. 



It is this which renders it so difficult a task to capture a living 

 adult Orang. With the young ones, however, it is different. 

 These creatures have proved a mine of interesting observation 

 to naturalists, who have been surprised to find so much gentle- 

 ness, intelligence, and affection in animals torn from their native 

 woods and transported into the society of Man. 



"VVe will first borrow from a description, by Dr. Abel Clark, 

 of the habits of a young Orang which he had brought from 

 Java to England. 



At Java, this Monkey lived under a tamarind tree, near the 

 Doctor's dwelling. There it had made a bed, composed of 

 small interlaced branches covered with leaves ; on this it passed 

 the greater portion of its time, looking out for the people who 

 carried fruit, and, when they approached, descending to obtain a 

 share. At sunset it definitivelj' settled itself for the night, and 

 got up at dawn to visit its friends, who always welcomed it. 



When taken on board the vessel, it was secured by an iron 

 chain to a ring-bolt ; but it unfastened itself and ran away, when, 

 finding the chain trailing behind an encumbrance, it threw it 

 over its shoulder. As it released itself in this manner several 

 times, it was decided to allow it to go at large. It became 

 very familiar with the sailors ; it plaj'ed with them, and knew 

 how to escape when pursued, for it darted into inaccessible parts 

 of the rigging. 



" At first," writes Doctor Abel Clark, "it usually slept on one of 

 the upper yards, after enveloping itself in a sail. In making its bed 

 it took the greatest care to remove everything that might disturb 

 the smooth surface of the place on which it intended to lie. After 

 satisfying its tastes in this part of its domestic arrano-ements, 

 it lay down on its back, bringing the sail over the surface of its 



