FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF AFRICA. 
263 
When ill, it is patient under the surgeon’s knife; and, accord¬ 
ing to Brehm, if not entirely human, has a great deal of the human 
within it. It cannot therefore excite our surprise that the natives 
of West Africa are of opinion that the chimpanzees were once men, 
who, on account of their bad qualities, have been thrust out from 
human companionship; and still persisting in yielding to their evil 
THE CHIMPANZEE. 
impulses, have gradually sunk to their present degraded condition. 
Less is known of the chimpanzee in a state of freedom; like the 
gorilla, it does not live in troops, as do other monkeys, but in pairs, 
or even alone; it is only occasionally that the young are seen to 
assemble in larger bands. The chase is difficult. From twenty to 
thirty skilled hunters are required for the pursuit. To them is 
entrusted the difficult commission of climbing up the trees for more 
