JOHANNA 191 



to the same gentleman. The history that is given of her, 

 however, is hardly to be taken in full faith. Her age 

 cannot be determined with certainty, but it is said that 

 she is about thirteen years old. I have reason to doubt 

 that, although I cannot positively deny it. Whatever may 

 be her exact age, it is certain that she has now reached a 

 complete adult state. She has grown to be quite as large 

 as Chico was at the time of his death. She is not of 

 amiable temper, but is much less vicious than he was. 

 She has some of the marks of a kulu-kamba. 



In order to justify my doubts upon the subject of 

 Johanna's age, I may state that Chico was hardly ten 

 years of age when he died, but he had reached the adult 

 period ; and as males of any genus of the primates do not 

 reach that state sooner than the females, it is not prob- 

 able, since he was mature at ten, that she was not so until 

 twelve. In the next place, her captors claim to have seen 

 her within a few hours after her birth, and state that they 

 watched her and her mother from time to time until she 

 was one year old. Then they killed the mother and cap- 

 tured the babe. The claim is absurd. These apes are 

 nomadic in habit and are rarely ever seen twice in the 

 same place. They claim that she was born on January 19, 

 but, from what I know of these apes, I conclude that is 

 not their season of bearing. I doubt if any of them were 

 ever born during that month. Again, it is claimed that she 

 was captured by Portuguese explorers in the Congo, but 

 the Portuguese do not possess along that river any terri- 

 tory in which these apes are ever found. They claim the 

 territory around Kabinda, which would indicate that she 



