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THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



me that a great mias was feeding in the woods. Accompanied by two Dyaks, 

 we hurried to the place. I heard a slight rustling sound overhead, but could see 

 nothing. Then I again heard the rustling, but louder, and perceived a great red hairy 

 body and a huge black face gazing down from a great hight, as if wanting to know 

 what was making such a disturbance below. I fired, and he made off, so that I could 

 not then tell whether I had hit him. We followed and I got four more shots at 

 him, but he was always more or less protected by a huge branch on which he was 

 walking. Once, while loading, I had a splendid view of him, moving along the limb 

 in a semi-erect posture, and showing him to be an animal of the largest size. At 

 length he got to one of the loftiest trees of the forest, and we could see one leg 

 hanging down useless, having been broken by a ball. He now fixed himself in a fork, 

 and seemed disinclined to move. I therefore fired again, when he moved off, and was 

 obliged to get on some lower trees, on the branches of one of which he fixed himself 

 in such a position that he could not fall, and lay all in a heap, as if dead or dying. I 

 sent for axes, and the tree was soon cut through ; but it was so held up by jungle-ropes 

 and climbers to the adjoining trees that it only fell in a sloping position. The mias 

 did not move, and I began to fear that after all we should not get him, as it was near 

 evening, and half a dozen more trees would have to be cut down before the one he was 

 on would fall. As a last resource, we all began pulling at the creepers, which shook 

 the tree very much, and he came down with a crash and a thud like the fall of a giant. 

 And a giant he was, his head and body being full as large as a man's. His hight, 

 measuring fairly from the top of the head to the heel, was four feet two inches. The 

 body just below the arms was three feet two inches round, and was quite as long as a 

 man's, the legs being exceedingly long in proportion. On examination we found he 

 had been terribly wounded. Both legs were broken, one hip-joint and the root of the 

 spine completely shattered, and two bullets were found flattened on his neck and jaws ; 

 yet he was still alive when he fell. Another individual of about the same size was 

 afterwards twice shot, causing him to loose his hold of the branch and fall flat on his 

 face half buried in the swamp, where he lay for some minutes groaning and panting. 

 Suddenly he raised himself up nearly erect, and catching hold of a small tree, began to 

 ascend it. Another shot through the back caused him to fall down dead. A flattened 

 bullet was found in his tongue, having entered the lower part of the abdomen, and 

 completely traversed the body, fracturing the first cervical vertebra. Yet it was after 

 receiving this fearful wound that he had risen and began climbing with considerable 

 facility." 



These two orangs are the largest of which we have any reliable accounts ; although 

 there are doubtful stories in various books of individuals much larger — as high as five 

 feet two inches. How easy it is to be deceived in estimating, without actual measure- 

 ment, the hight of these animals, is shown in the case of a Sumatran orang, whose 

 skin is now in the Calcutta museum. The captain and crew who killed him declared 

 that he looked taller than the tallest man, and they supposed him to be at least seven 

 feet high ; but when he was killed and lay upon the ground, they found that he was 

 only about six feet. The skin shows that he was really less than four feet. Mr. 

 Wallace admits that the largest orangs are mudi less than the gorilla. *' I have 

 myself," he says, " examined seventeen freshly-killed orangs, all of which were care- 

 fully measured ; and also obtained skeletons of two killed by others. Of these sixteen 



