NATURAL HISTORY. 
08 
neighbourhood where this slaying was said to have taken place. On arriving at the town of Ngumbi 
pretending to be trading, he writes, “I was asked whether I would buy Gorillas as M. Du Chaillii 
did. I refused to buy them, but said that I would give a large reward to any hunter who would get 
me a shot at one, and also a present to the King. They seemed astonished at this, and asked me why 
I wished to do a thing that other white men had never wished to do. Now, I had taken with me 
two interpreters, and managed to make them quarrel, so that there might be no collusion in the matter. 
1 examined Etui, a hunter, in whose company M. Du Cliaillu professes to have killed Gorillas, by each 
interpreter separately. I examined in the same manner the live guides who had escorted him in the 
Opingi country ; and though they spoke of M. Du Chaillu in high terms, and appeared to have a great 
affection for him, all replied that he had never shot a Gorilla.” 
YOUNO GOilLLLA AND DOG. 
Still later accounts from able naturalists confirm Winwood Heade’s views, and insist upon the 
truth of the fact that no European has ever seen a Gorilla in its adult age alive, and in its native 
forests. They start off at the slightest noise, and are only hunted by natives for the sake of their 
bones and skins, which are valuable enough in Europe. Moreover, exception has been taken to the 
tales about the intractable and violent nature of the Gorilla, and more than one well-known African 
naturalist sides with those who disbelieve in the ferocity of the young Gorilla. 
The reason why the Gorilla flourishes in Western Equatorial Africa is probably because the great 
Carnivora, or beasts of prey, are not found in the dense forests and open prairies which cover the 
country. The jungle begins where the sea ceases, and then comes the virgin forest, extending some 
degrees north and south of the equator, and reaching unknown distances inland. There are no Lions,, 
and but few Leopards, Hyenas, and Jackals to be met with ; the great African beasts — the 
Rhinoceroses, Giraffes, Zebras, etc. — are absent. Snakes, Lizards, and a vast insect world abound, and 
there are birds of prey. The Elephant is scarce, and, indeed, miles and miles may be traversed without 
