450 
THE STORY OF THE GORILLA. 
missing link,”—long since extinct, and as much unlike any living* ape, as 
such apes are unlike man himself. 
That the higher apes are closely related in their bodily structure to man 
is obvious to all, and it is a fact that the differences between some of these 
apes and man are of far less importance than those by which the lower 
monkeys are separated from the higher apes. It has, indeed, been attempted 
to show that apes and monkeys are sharply distinguished from man by the 
circumstance that while man is two-handed, apes and monkeys are four- 
handed. The difference between the foot of one of the larger apes and that 
of man is, however, merely one of degree, and is much less than that between 
the apes and the lowest representatives of the order. 
Most of the monkey tribe are inhabitants of forest regions. Aided by 
their hand-like feet, all of them are expert climbers, and many, like the 
oriental gibbons and the South American spider-monkeys, but rarely leave 
the trees, leaping from bough to bough, and thus from tree to tree, far above 
the heads of the travelers below, to whom their presence is made known 
only by their continual howling or chattering. The climbing powers of the 
South American monkeys are largely aided by their prehensile tails, which 
serve the purpose of a fifth limb. Owing to the warmth of the regions in 
which most of them dwell, monkeys never hibernate. Contrary, however, 
to what is often supposed to be the case, several of the smaller species are 
expert swimmers, and will fearlessly cross comparatively large rivers. 
When the human skeleton is contrasted with that of the ape the size of 
the ape’s forearm is the most striking point of difference. Next comes the 
shape of the skull and the ring of bone surrounding the sockets of the eyes. 
The number of teeth differs in the various species. In the very young the 
resemblance to man is much greater than in the adult ape. 
Dr. Robert Hartmann, of Berlin, who has devoted much attention to 
the man-like apes, observes that “in the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and the 
orang-outan, the outer form is subject to modifications, according to the 
age and sex. The difference between the sexes is most strongly marked in 
the gorilla, and these differences are least apparent in the gibbons. When 
a young male gorilla is compared with an aged animal of the same species we 
are almost tempted to believe that we have to do with two> entirely different* 
creatures. While the young male still shows a resemblance to the human 
structure, and develops in its bodily habits the same qualities which gen¬ 
erally characterize the short-tailed apes of the Old World, with the exception 
of the baboon, the aged male is otherwise formed. In the latter case the 
