CLASS I. MAMMALIA: 
ORDEK 2. 
QUADRUMANA. 
67 
patted his head and encouraged him. He then came forth, and went about the room, looking 
carefully, as if to satisfy himself that the snake was gone ; advanced to the chair inore boldly ; 
looked under it, and took the apple, and ate it with great appetite, dancing about, and resuming 
all his former gayety. 
" We know that there are large constricting serpents in Africa ; and, as the animal must have 
been very young when separated from its parents, I made this experiment in particular to try his 
instinct : it succeeded, to the entire satisfaction of the witnesses who were present. 
" He manifested aversion to a small living tortoise, but nothing like the horror which he be- 
trayed at sight of the snake. 
" Tommy, among other exercises, is very fond of swinging. He places himself on the swing, 
generally in a sitting posture, holding on each side with his hands. He not unfrequently puts up 
his feet, and grasps the cord on either side with them too, apparently more at home on his slack- 
rope than II Diavolo Antonio himself 
"James Hunt, one of the keepers, has observed him freqiiently sitting and leaning his head on 
his hand, attentively looking at the keepers when at their supper, and watching, to use Hunt's 
expression, ' every bit they put into their mouths.' Fuller, the head-keeper, informs me that our 
chimpanzee generally takes his rest in a sitting posture, leaning rather forward, with folded arms, 
and sometimes with his face in his hands. Sometimes he sleeps prone, with his legs rather drawn 
up, and his head resting on his arms. 
" Of the black orangs or chimpanzees which I have seen, Tommy is by far the most lively. He 
is in the best health and spirits, and is a very difterent animal from the drooping, sickly ones that 
I have hitherto seen. A good deal of observation made on the Asiatic orangs which have been 
exhibited in this country, satisfies me that the intelligence of the African orang is superior to that 
of the Asiatic. This intelligence is entirely different from that of a Avell-educated dog, or a mere 
mimic, and gives me the idea of an intellect more resembling that of a human being than of any 
other animal, though still infinitely below it 
" Tommy does not like confinement ; and when he is shut into his cage, the violence with which 
he pulls at and shakes the door is very great, and shows considerable strength ; but I have never 
seen him use this exertion against any other part of the cage, though his keeper has endeavored 
to induce him to do so, in order to see whether he would make the distinction. When at liberty, 
he is extremely playful ; and in his high jinks I saw him toddle into a corner where an unlucky 
bitch was lying with a litter of very young pups, and lay hold of one of them, till the snarling of 
the mother, and the voice of his keeper, to which he pays instant respect, made him put the pup 
down. He then climbed up to the top of the cage where the marmosets were, and jumped furi- 
ously upon it, evidently to astonish the inmates ; who were astonished accordingly, and huddled 
together, looking up in consternation at this ' dreadful pother o'er their heads.' Then he went to 
a window, opened it, and looked out. I was afraid that he might make his escape ; but the words 
' Tommy, no!' pronounced by his keeper in a mild but firm tone, caused him to shut the window 
and come awa}\ He is, in truth, a most docile and affectionate animal, and it is impossible not 
to be taken by the expressive gestures and looks with which he courts your good opinion, and 
throws himself upon you for protection against annoyance." 
The Gorilla, Troglodytes gorilla., is also found on the western coast of Africa, especially in the 
vicinity of the Gaboon. Though larger and fiercer than the chimpanzee, it appears in other respects 
to resemble it. The recent discovery and description of this animal has revived one of the curious 
legends of ancient history, which is as follows : At an era of some five hundred years before Christ, 
Hanno, a Carthaginian admiral, sailed out of the Mediterranean by way of the Pillars of Hercules, 
or Straits of Gibraltar, and founded cities on the Libyan coast. After a great variety of adven- 
tures, having proceeded as far south as the Gulf of Guinea, he came to an island in this quarter in 
which there was a lake, and in this lake another island, filled with savages all covered over with 
hair. There were a great many more females than males. The Carthaginians pursued these 
strange people, but they fled with precipitation, and the males, climbing up the steep rocks 
with astonishing agility, all escaped. Three of the females, however, fell into the hands of the 
invaders. These were very furious, biting and scratching, and refusing to follow their captors. 
