CHAPTER XV 



HABITS OF THE GORILLA 



A STUDY of the habits of the gorilla in a wild state 

 is attended with much difficulty, but the results that 

 I obtained during a sojourn of one year among them 

 are an ample reward for the efforts made. In a 

 state of captivity the habits of animals are made to 

 conform in a measure to their surroundings, and 

 since those are different many of their habits differ 

 also. Some are foregone, others modified, and new 

 ones acquired, therefore we cannot know with cer- 

 tainty what the animal was in a state of nature. In 

 the social life of the gorilla there are a few things 

 perhaps that differ very much from that of the chim- 

 panzee, but there are some that do in a certain 

 degree. From the native accounts of the modes of 

 life of these two apes, there would appear to be a 

 much greater difference than a systematic study of 

 them reveals ; but the native version of things fre- 

 quently has a germ of truth which may serve as a 

 clue to the facts in the case ; and while we cannot 

 rely upon the tales they relate in all details, we can 

 forgive the mendacity and make use of the sugges- 

 tion they furnish. 



