248 APES AND MONKEYS 



was very ill. He rolled from side to side and groaned in 

 evident pain. He kept one hand upon his stomach, where 

 the pain appeared to be located. He displayed all the 

 symptoms of gastric poisoning, and I have reason to be- 

 lieve now that the boy had given him poison. I should 

 regret to foster this suspicion against an innocent person, 

 but it is based upon certain facts that I have learned since 

 that time. 



While I sat in my cage watching Othello, who lay on 

 the ground a short distance away, I discovered a native 

 approaching him from the jungle. The man had an 

 uplifted spear in his hand, as if in the act of hurling 

 it at something. He had not seen me, but it did not 

 for a moment occur to me that he had designs upon my 

 pet. I spoke to him in the native language, whereupon he 

 explained that he had seen the young gorilla and suspected 

 that there was an old one close at hand, and being in fear 

 of an attack, he was prepared. He said he was not afraid 

 of a little one, but desired to capture him. I informed him 

 that the gorilla was ill. He made an examination and 

 assured me that Othello would die. 



The man departed, and Othello continued to grow worse. 

 His sighing and groaning were really touching. I gave him 

 an emetic, which produced good results. I also used some 

 vaporoles to resuscitate him, but my skill was not sufficient 

 to meet the demands of his case. His conduct was so like 

 that of a human being that it deeply impressed me, and 

 being alone with him in the silence of the dreary forest at 

 the time of his death, the scene had a touch of sadness 

 that impressed me with a deeper sense of its reality. 



