CONTRADICTORY STORIES. 
37 
scene ensued. The men put the body down, and I set the little fellow near. As soon as he saw his 
mother he crawled to her, and threw himself on her breast. He did not find his accustomed nourish- 
ment, and I saw that he perceived something was the matter with the old one. He crawled over her 
body, smelt at it, and gave utterance, from time to time, to a plaintive cry — 4 Hoo, hoo, hoo ! 7 which 
touched my heart. I could get no milk for this poor little fellow, who could not eat, and consequently 
died on the third day after he was caught. He seemed more docile than the other I had, for lie already 
recognised my voice, and would try to hurry towards me when he saw me. I put the little body in 
alcohol, and sent it to Dr. Wyman, of Boston, for dissection. ” 
Of course all the stories about the Gorilla are not believed, and those of all writers, from Hanno 
downwards, have been severely criticised. 
A distinguished African traveller, Winwood Beade, stated that the name, leaving alone the stories, 
of Hanno, was a blunder, and that the word Gorilla was misapplied, because the habits of the creature 
do not tally with the story. The Gorillas of Hanno were found, it is supposed, on Sherbro Island ; they 
scaled rocks and defended themselves with stones. They could neither have been Gorillas nor Chim- 
panzees, but a species of Cynocephalus, or Dog-faced Monkeys or Baboons. “ These animals,” 
writes this author, 4 - which I have seen often enough, go in troops, which Gorillas do not, and 
actually defend themselves with stones, a fact which I assert not only on the evidence of natives, but 
on the evidence of white men who have kept them in a state of captivity. They are also very ferocious, 
and will always defend themselves when attacked either by man or beast. I spent five months,” he 
continues, 44 in the Gorilla country, and did not leave that part of Africa till I had completely satisfied 
myself respecting the habits of this animal. The evidence which I now lay before you is composed of 
statements made to me by men who had killed Gorillas. It is collected from three distinct parts of 
Equatorial Africa, namely, from the Balengi of the Muni River, from the Shekani and Fans, of the 
Gaboon, and from the Oommi, Bakeli, &c., of the Fernandes Vaz. But from the last river, where 
Gorillas are plentiful, I obtained the most information.” 
44 The Gorilla is found in those thick and solitary places of the forest where animal life is scarce. 
His food is strictly vegetable. He moves along the ground on all-fours, sometimes he goes up into 
trees to feed on fruit, and at night he sleeps in a large tree. When the female is pregnant, the male 
builds a nest, where she is confined, and which she abandons as soon as her young one is born. The 
Gorilla does not beat its breast like a drum, It utters a kind of short sharp bark when enraged, and 
its ordinary cry is of a plaintive nature. With respect to its ferocity, the hunters have a proverb, 
4 Leave a Ngina alone, and it will leave you alone.’ When it is at bay, and wounded, it will attack 
man like the stag, the elephant, and other animals which are naturally timid. But it makes its attack 
on all-fours, and the hunters, who are themselves as nimble as Apes, often escape from it as men 
escape from the charge of an elephant. I have seen a man who was wounded by a Gorilla ; his wrist 
was crippled, and the marks of the teeth were visible. He told me that the Gorilla seized bis wrist, 
and dragged it into his mouth ; it was contented with having done this, and then made ofi'. The 
nearest approach to an erect posture which the Gorilla attains is by supporting itself by hanging on 
to the branches. When I asked the people of Ngumbi whether a man had ever been killed by a 
Gorilla, they said that their fathers had spoken of such a thing, but that nothing of the kind had 
happened within the memory of anybody living. Such is the evidence of the native hunters upon the 
habits of the Gorilla. I could not find that it differed in any important respect from the Chimpanzee, 
except in its superior size and strength, and in its certainly being more formidable when wounded. 
But when I asked the hunters which was the most dangerous, the Leopard or the Gorilla, they replied 
the 4 Leopard.’ 
44 1 can make one or two positive assertions from my own experience. Although I never suc- 
ceeded in viewing a Gorilla in its wild state, I can assert that it travels on all-fours, for I have seen 
the tracks of its four feet over and over again. I can assert that it runs away from man, for I 
have been near enough to hear one running away from me ; and I can assert that the young Gorilla is 
as docile as the young Chimpanzee in captivity, for I have seen them both in a state of captivity. I 
have also seen the lying-in nests both of Chimpanzees and Gorillas, the latter being the larger of the 
two. The Chimpanzee has the character of being; more intelligent than his big brother.” This careful 
traveller doubted some of the stories told by M. Du Chaillu about Gorilla killing, so he went to the 
6 
