CHAP, 17.] 



Mr LAST M2JS. 



57 



Tlie difficnltY then was to load my gum again, for 1 was so 

 deep in tlie water tliat 1 could not hold the i;im sloj)irij/ 

 enough to pour the powder in. 1 ihercfore had tu 

 search for a sliaUow place, and after several shots under 

 these trying circumstances, I was delighted to see the 

 monstrous animal roll over into tlie water. I now towed 

 liim after nve to the stream, hut the JTalays ohjected Ui 

 have the animal put into the boat, and he wns so heavy 

 that I conld not do it "without tlieir help. I looked about 

 for a place to skin him, but not a bit of dry ground was to 

 be seen, till at last I found a clump of two or three old 

 trees and stumps, between winch a few feet of soil had 

 collected just above the water, and which was just larg« 

 enough for us to drag the animal npon it I lii-st measured 

 him, and fonnd him to be l^y far the lai-gest I had yet seen, 

 for, thougli the standing height was the same as the othtits 

 (4 feet 2 inches), j^et the outstretched arms were 7 feet 

 9 inches, which was six inches more than the previous one, 

 and the immense broad face \va.5 ILU inches wide, whei-e-as 

 the widest I had hitherto seen \vas only 11 J inches. The 

 girth of the body was 3 feet 7^ inehcB. I am inclined t<» 

 believe, therefore, that the length and strength of the arms, 

 and the width of the face, continues increasing to a very 

 great age, wlule the standing height, fi-om the sole of tJm 

 foot to the crown of the head, rarely if ever exceeds 4 feet 

 2 inches. 



As this \vas the last Mias I shot, and the last time I 

 saw an adult living animal, I will give a sketch of its 

 general haljits, ami any other facts connected with it. The 

 Orang-utan is known to iidiabit Sumatra and pH.>rneo, ami 

 there is every reason to believe that it is confined to tiiese 

 two great islands, in the former of which, however, it 

 seems to be much more mm. In Ijorneo it has a wide 

 range, inhabiting many districts on the south-w'cst, south- 

 east, north-east, and north-west coasts, but api>ears to 

 be chietiy confined to the low and swampy forests. It 

 seems, at first sight, very inexplicable that the Miiw 

 should be quite unknown in the Sarawak valley, while it 

 is abundant in Sambas, on the west, and Badong, on thf 

 east But when we know the habits and mode of life ofi 

 the animal, we see a sufficient reason for this apparent 



