212 APES AND MONKEYS 



valley to the coast. Beyond these lines I have found no 

 reliable trace of him, and along this boundary only now 

 and then is he found, except along the coast. 



I have seen two adult skulls and two infant skulls of the 

 gorilla that were brought by Mr. Wm. S. Cherry from the 

 Kisanga valley, which lies on the north side of the middle 

 Congo, into which the Kisanga River flows. The skulls 

 are the only evidence I have found of this ape existing so 

 far eastward ; but they were said to have come from that 

 part of the valley lying directly under the equator. Mr. 

 Cherry himself did not collect them. He secured them 

 from natives, and he does not claim to have seen any of 

 those apes alive. 



There appear to be three centers of gorilla population. 

 The first is in the basin of Izanga Lake ; the second is on 

 the south side of the basin of Lake Xkami ; and the third 

 is in the basin of the lake east of Sette Kama and west of 

 the Xkami River. The gorilla is rarely, if ever, found in 

 high or hill}" districts. He appears to be restricted to the 

 hummock lands, which are elevated only a few feet above 

 tide-level. This is all the more singular from the fact that 

 the ape appears to have a morbid dislike for water, and it 

 is doubtful whether or not he can swim. It is true that 

 he has one peculiar characteristic that belongs to aquatic 

 animals. He has a kind of web between the digits ; 

 but its purpose cannot be to aid in swimming. I have 

 been told that the gorilla can swim, and the statement 

 may be true ; but I have never observed anything in his 

 habits to confirm this, and I have noted many facts that 

 controvert it. 



