WHAT GORILLAS ARE LIKE. 
15 
dense foliage. They bolted off, making the thinner boughs bend with their weight, and an old male, 
apparently the guardian of the flock, made a bold stand, and stared at him through an opening. As 
soon as voices were heard, the shaggy Ape roared a cry of alarm, scrambled to the ground through 
the entangled lianas that were around the tree trunk, and soon disappeared into the jungle.” 
Having had, then, so many opportunities of seeing Gorillas alive and dead, Du Chaillu, of course, 
added Largely to the knowledge of their general shape and habits, and obtained skins for stuffing, and 
bones for the anatomists. Five specimens were sent over by him to England, and great discussions 
took place ; some naturalists asserting that the 
ferocity and courage of the great Ape were 
imaginary, and others believing in the truth of 
Du Chaillu, whose only fault was over-sensa- 
tional writing, and who strenuously denied many 
of the native stories. Then the anatomists had 
a great quarrel about the brain of the creature, 
and handled each other very severely. Of the 
nature of the outside of the Gorilla there could 
be no doubt, fortunately, for there are the 
stuffed skins and bones to be seen, and 
an examination of those in the national col- 
lection will prove how closely Savage must 
have questioned the natives who gave him 
reliable information, and how little can be 
added to his description. Du Chaillu says that 
in length the adult Gorillas vary as much as 
men, and believes that the tallest are six feet 
two inches in height, but that the average is 
from five feet two inches to five feet eight 
inches. The females are smaller, or have a lighter frame, 
six inches. The colour of the skin in the Gorilla, young as well as adult, is intense black, so far ax 
the face, breast, and palms of the hands are concerned. The fur of a grown, but not aged specimen, is 
iron-gray, and the individual hairs are ringed with alternate stripes of black and gray. It is long on 
the arms, and slopes downwards from the shoulder to the elbow, and upwards from the wrist to it. 
The head is covered with reddish-brown hair, which is short, and reaches the short neck. The chest is 
bare in the adults, and thinly covered with hair in young males. In the female the breast is bare, and 
the hair elsewhere is black with a red tinge, but it is not ringed as in the male; moreover, the reddish 
crown which covers the scalp of the male is not apparent in the female till she has almost become full 
grown. The eyes arc deeply sunken : the immense overhanging long ridge giving the face the 
expression of a constant savage scowl. The mouth is wide, and the lips are sharply cut, exhibiting no 
red on the edges, as in the human face. The jaws are of tremendous weight and power. The huge 
eye-teeth or canines, of the male, which are fully exhibited when, in his rage, he draws back his lips 
and shows the red colour of the inside of his mouth, lend additional ferocity to his aspect. In the female 
these teeth are smaller. The almost total absence of neck, which gives the head the appearance of 
being set into the shoulders, is due to the backward position of the joints which fix the head to the 
spine, and this allows the chin to hang over the top of the front of the chest. The brain-case is low 
and compressed, and its lofty top ridge causes the profile of the skull to describe an almost straight line 
from the back part, or occiput, to the ridge over the brow. The immense development of the muscles, 
which arise from this ridge, and the corresponding size of the jaw, are evidences of the great strength 
of the animal. The eyebrows are thin, but not well-defined, and are almost lost in the hair of the scalp. 
The eyelashes are thin also. The eyes are wide apart ; and the ears, which are on a line with them, are 
smaller than those of man, but veiy much like his. In a front view of the face the nose is flat, but 
somewhat prominent — more so than in any other Ape ; this is on account of a slightly projecting nose- 
bone, very unusual in Apes. The chest is of great capacity ; the shoulders being exceedingly broad. 
The abdomen is of immense size, very prominent, and rounded at the sides. The front limbs have a 
FACE OF TIIE GOlllLLA. 
tlieir height averaging about four feet 
