4 THE CHIMPANSEE. 
“His charge is made on all-fours: he seizes the offensive object, and, 
dragging it into his mouth, bites it. The story of his crushing a musket- 
barrel between his teeth is general, and a French officer told me that a gun 
was exhibited at the French settlements in the Gaboon, twisted ‘comme une 
papillote.”’ This, however, is not very wonderful, for the cheap Birmingham 
guns, with barrels made of ‘sham-dam-skelp’ iron, which are sold to the 
natives, might easily be bent and twisted by a strong-jawed animal. I heard 
a great deal about men being killed by Gorillas, but wherever | went I found 
that the story retreated to tradition. That a man might be killed by a Gorilla 
I do not affect to doubt for a moment, but that a man has not been killed 
by one within the inemory of the living, I can most firmly assert. ' 
“T once saw a man who had been wounded by a Gorilla. It was Etia, 
the Mchaga hunter, who piloted me in the forests of Ngumbi. His left hand 
was completely crippled, and the marks of teeth were visible on the wrist. 
I asked him to show me exactly how the Gorilla attacked him. I was to be 
thehunter, he the Gorilla. 1 pretended to shoot at him. He rushed towards 
me on all-fours, and seizing my wrist with one of his hands, dragged it to 
his mouth, bit it, and then made off. So, he said, the Njina had done to 
him. Itis by these simple tests that one can best arrive at truth among 
the negroes. That which I can attest from my own personal experience in 
my unsuccessful attempts to shoot a Gorilla, is as follows :—I have seen the 
nests of the Gorillas, as I have described them ; I cannot say positively whether 
they are used as beds, or only as lying-in couches. I have repeatedly seen 
the tracks of the Gorillas, and could tell by the tracks that the Gorilla goes 
habitually on all-fours.” 
CLOSELY connected with the preceding animal is the large black ape which 
is now well known by the name of CHIMPANSEE. 
This creature is found in the same parts of Western Africa as the Gorilla, 
being very common near the Gaboon. It ranges over a considerable space 
of country, inhabiting a belt of land some ten or more degrees north and 
south of the torrid zone. 
The title zZger, or black, sufficiently indicates the colour of the hair which 
envelops the body and limbs of the Chimpansee. The tint of the hair is 
almost precisely the same as that of the gorilla, being nearly entirely black ; 
the exception being a few whiter hairs scattered thinly over the muzzle. 
It is a remarkable fact that the Chimpansees are partly groundlings, and are 
not accustomed to habitual residence among the branches of trees. Although 
these apes do not avail themselves of the protection which would be afforded 
by a loftier habitation, yet they are individually so strong, and collectively so 
formidable, that they dwell in security, unharmed even by the lion, leopard, 
or other members of the cat tribes, which are so dreaded by the monkey 
tribes generally. 
The food of these creatures appears to be almost entirely of a vegetable 
nature, and they are very unprofitable neighbours to any one who has the mis- 
fortune to raise crops of rice, or to plant bananas, plantains, or papaus, within 
an easy journey of a Chimpansee settlement. Asis the case with many of the 
monkey tribes, the animat will eat food of a mixed character when it is living 
in a domesticated state 
Many specimens have been brought to Europe, and some to England ; but 
this insular climate seems to have a more deleterious effect on the constitu- 
tion of this ape than even on that of the other Quadrumana. 
As long as they resist the untoward influence of our climate, the specimens 
which we have known have always been extremely gentle and docile. Taught 
by the instinctive dread of cold, they soon appreciate the value of clothing, 
and learn to wrap themselves up in mats, rugs, or blankets, with perfect 
