252 APES AND MONKEYS 



During my life in the cage I saw twenty-two gorillas ; 

 but I shall describe only a few of them, as their actions in 

 most instances were similar. The first one that I had the 

 pleasure of seeing in the jungle came within a few yards 

 of the cage before it was yet in order to receive. He was 

 exactly half grown. He must have been attracted by the 

 noise made in putting the cage together. He advanced 

 with caution, and when I discovered him he was peering 

 through the bushes, as if to ascertain the cause of the 

 sounds. When he saw me, he tarried only a few seconds 

 and hurried off into the jungle. I did not disturb or shoot 

 at him, because I desired him to return. 



On the third day after I went to live in the cage a fam- 

 ily of ten gorillas was seen to cross an open space along 

 the back of a batch of plantains near one of the villages. 

 A small native boy was within about twenty yards of them 

 when they crossed the path in front of him. A few min- 

 utes later I was notified of their vicinity. I took my rifle 

 and followed them into the jungle until I lost the trail. A 

 few hours after this they were again seen by some natives 

 not far away from my cage, but the}' did not come near 

 enough to be seen or heard. The next day a family came 

 within some thirty yards of the cage. The bush was so 

 dense that I could not see them, but I could distinguish 

 four or five voices. They seemed to be engaged in a broil 

 of some kind. I suppose it was the family that had been 

 seen the day before. The second night after that I heard 

 the screams of one in the forest some distance from me, 

 but I do not know whether it was the king of this family 

 or another. 



