APE 
APE 
back again with the fame expedition. There is no 
pofture they do not imitate, nor any motion they are 
at a lols to perform : bending themfelves like bows, 
rolling like bowls, and hanging by the hands, feet, 
and teeth, according to the diiTerent fancies prompt- 
ed by their capricious imaginations. In fhort, fuch 
is their agility, that they can fling themfelves from 
one rope to another, at thirty, forty, or even fifty 
feet diftance.' 
Thefe are the habitudes and powers of the fmaller 
clafs of thefe extraordinary animals; but we are 
prcfented with a very different pi6ture in thofe of a 
larger ftature, and more mufcular form. Thofe 
we have yet defcribed, which are feldom found 
above four feet high, feem to partake of the nature 
of dwarfs among the human fpecies, being gentle, 
affiduous, and playful, and rather calculated to 
amufe than to alarm: but the gigantic race of Ou- 
rangOutangs,feen and defcribed by fome travellers, 
is truly formidable; and, in thofe gloomy fbrefls 
where they are ufually found, they feem to hold an 
undifputed empire. Many of thefe exceed the hu- 
man race in feature; are pofTeffed of fuperior acti- 
vity, ftrength, and intrepidity; and appear to be 
cunning, lafcivious, and cruel. Thefe formidable 
rivals of mankind are found in many parts of Africa, 
as well as in the Eaft Indies, Madagafcar, Borneo, 
and fome other tropical iflands. In Borneo, in 
particular, the nobility courfe them as we do flags ; 
and this kind of hunting is faid to be the favourite 
amufement of the king and royal family. Their 
fliins are all hairy; their eyes funk in their heads ; 
their countenances ilern ; their faces tanned ; and all 
their lineaments, though exaftly refembling thofe 
of mankind, are harfli, and darkened by the fun. 
In the fultry and defart regions of Africa, the 
Ourang Outang is ftill more formidable. Battel 
gives it the appellation of the pongo; and aiTures 
us that, in all refpects, it refembles a man, except 
in it's fuperior magnitude. It's face is almoft en- 
tirely hum.an ; the eyes are deep funk in the head ; 
and the hair on each fide of the vifage is extremely 
long, though the face itfelf is naked, and v/ithout 
hair, as well as the ears and hands. The body is 
lightly covered, and fcarcely differing from that 
of a man ; but the creature has no calves to it's 
legs, though it walks ere£l. It fleeps under fhady 
trees; and ere6ts itfelf a hut, as well to protcfl it 
from the ardent heat of the fun, as the violence of 
the tropical rains : it fubfifts entirely on fruits, and 
is in no refpeft carnivorous. It is poffefred of 
greater inftinfl than any other animal of the brute 
creation; and, when the negroes make fires in 
the woods, has fo little timiidity, that it generally 
approaches to warm itielf: but it does not appear 
to have fufEcient ikili to keep the flame alive by 
throwing on frefh fupplies of fuel. It is a grega- 
rious animal ; and, if it meets any of the human 
fpecies alone, feldom (hews them any mercy : it 
will even attack the elephant, beating it with clubs, 
and compelling it to retire from that quarter of 
the foreft which it claims as it's own. No hu- 
man art can avail to catch one of thefe dreadful 
creatures alive : for they are fo fb'ong, that ten men 
would hardly be a match for one of them'; and fo 
fleet, that it is impoffible to overtake them. None 
of this kind, therefore, are ever caught, unlefs when 
very young, and the female chances to leave them 
behind ; and this happens but feldom, as they gene- 
rally keep clung to the breaft, adhering both with 
theirlegs andarms. The fame traveller alfo fays, that 
when one of thefe animals dies, the reft cover the 
body with a quantity of leaves and branches. 
From another traveller, the ingenious LeSrofTe^ 
we learn that thefe animals often attempt to furprize 
the female negroes in the woods, where they for- 
cibly detain them for the pleafure of their Ibciety, 
feeding them with the choiceft fruits they can pro- 
cure ; and he affures us that he knew a woman of 
Loango, who had lived among thefe animals for 
three years. They grow from fix to feven feet in 
height, and are endowed with prodigious flrength. 
They build fheds for their fhelter, and make ufe of 
clubs for their defence. Their faces are broad, 
their nofes flat, their ears deftitute of lips, their 
fliins brighter than a Mulatto's, and they are co- 
vered on many parts of the body with long tawny 
hair: their bellies are large and prominent; their 
heels flat, yet rifmg behind; and they generally 
walk upright, though they can go on all-fours 
with equal facility. 
From this view of the Ourang Outang, we may 
perceive at what an infinite diflance the firft animal 
of the brute creation is placed from the very loweft 
orders of the human fpecies ! Even among the moft; 
favage nations, it is confidered as a merebeaft; and^ 
in thofe very places where %ve might fuppofe there 
is the fmallefl: real difference, the inhabitants regard 
it with the utmoft contempt and dcteftation. In 
Borneo, vv-here this animal has been faid to arrive 
at the greateft perfeftion, and to difplay the higheft 
degree of imitative excellence, the natives hunt it 
in the fanse manner as they purfue the elephant or 
tlie lion, it's near affinity to the human form pro-* 
curing it neither pity nor protection. 
The gradations of Nature in the other parts of 
her works are minute and im.perceptible : in the 
tranfition from quadrupeds to fifhes, v/e can 
fcarcely tell where the quadruped ends and the fifh 
begins; in the defcent from beafts to infects, we 
can hardly diftinguifh the fteps of the progrefTion ; 
but, in the afcent from brutes to men, the line is 
ftrongly drawn, well marked, and decifive. In 
vain tlie Ourang Outang may refemble man in 
fomi, or may poffefs the power of imitating his 
adions; it ftill continues a wretched, helplefs crea- 
ture, pent up in the moft gloomy parts of the foreftj 
and, with regard to any provident proviflon for 
it's own accommodation or happinefs, it appears 
greatly inferior to the elephant, or beaver, in fa- 
gacity. To uncnquiring mankind, indeed, this 
animal may appear much wifer than it really is. 
Accuftomed to eftimate the fagacity of all actions 
by their fimilitude to our ov/n, regardlefs of their 
aptitude to the animal's way of life, we are charmed 
with the humble imitations of the Ape, even while 
we are convinced by our fenfes that they are far from 
contributing to the felicity of it's fituation. An 
Ape, or a quadruped, when under the trammels 
of luiman education, may be an admirable objecfl 
for our curiofity; but the creature is very little 
profited, by all it's learning, in the advancement 
of it's own felicity: on the contrary, it has been 
always remarked, that thefe long-tutored animals 
have a melancholy in their air,fufficientlyexprefllve 
of the wretchednefs of their fituation, and which 
indicates the folicitucie of their minds. The marks 
of feeming fagacity are merely relative to us, and 
not to the animal itfelf ; and all it's boafted wifdom 
is entirely the effeft of our own tuition. 
Another circumftance relative to this animal 
ought not to be difregarded: there is great reafon to 
believe that the moft perfeCt of the kind, like the reft 
of the quadruped creation, only owe their ere6l atti- 
tude to human education. Almoft all th.e travel- 
lers who mention them,fpeak of their going on all- 
fours ; 
