258 THE OURAN OUTANG. 
throw them behind him to keep his balance. 
His progressive motion on a flat surface is ac- 
complished by placing his bent fists upon the 
ground, and drawing his body between his 
arms : moving in this manner, he strongly re- 
sembles a person decrepid in the legs, sup- 
ported on stilts. In a state of nature, he pro- 
bably seldom moves along the ground ; his 
whole external configuration showing his fit- 
ness for climbing trees and clinging to their 
branches. The length and pliability of his 
fingers and toes enable him to grasp with 
facility and steadiness ; and the force of his 
muscles empowers him to support his body for 
a great length of time by one hand or foot- 
He can thus pass from one fixed object to ano- 
ther, at the distance of his span from each 
other, and can obviously pass from one branch 
of a tree to another through a much greater 
interval. In sitting on a flat surface, this 
animal turns his legs under him. In sitting 
