GORILLAS 259 



afforded an opportunity of studying her in a way that no 

 one else has ever been able to do. I watched every move- 

 ment of her body, face, and eyes. Being in the cage, I sat 

 with perfect composure and studied her without the fear of 

 attack. With due respect for the temerity of men, I do 

 not believe that any sane man could calmly sit and watch 

 one of these huge beasts approach so near him without 

 feeling a tremor of fear, unless he were protected as I was. 

 Any man would either shoot or retreat, and he could not 

 possibly study the subject with equanimity. 



The temptation to shoot her was almost too great to 

 resist, and the desire to capture her babe made it all the 

 more so. But I refrained from firing my gun anywhere 

 within a radius of half a mile or so of my cage, and the 

 natives had agreed to the same thing. My purpose in 

 doing so was to avoid frightening the apes away from the 

 locality. I had been told by the native hunters that if I 

 wounded one of the apes the others would leave the vicin- 

 ity and perhaps not return for weeks. It is said that if 

 you kill one the others do not notice it so much as if you 

 merely wounded it. Although they seem to be conscious 

 of the fact of the killing, and for the time depart, they will 

 return within a short time. 



I could have shot this one with perfect ease and safety. 

 As she approached, her head and breast were towards me ; 

 just before she discovered me her left side was in plain 

 view, and when she sat down her breast was perfectly 

 exposed. I could have shot her in the heart, the breast, or 

 the head. Her baby hung upon her back, with its arms 

 embracing her neck and its feet caught under her arms. 



