Part 3

According to du Chaillu, the natives entertain many superstitions about the gorilla, among the commonest of which is the belief that some gorillas are inhabited by human spirits. In his "Stories of the Gorilla Country" he gives an interesting illustration of this. "In the evening," he says, "the men told stories about gorillas. 'I remember,' said one, 'my father told me he once went out to the forest, when just in his path he met a great gorilla. My father had his spear in his hand. When the gorilla saw the spear he began to roar; then my father was terrified and dropped the spear. When the gorilla saw that my father had dropped the spear he was pleased. He looked at him, and then left him and went into the thick forest. Then my father was glad and went on his way.' Here all shouted: 'Yes! so we must do when we meet the gorilla. Drop the spear; that appeases him.' Next Gambo spoke. 'Several dry seasons ago, a man suddenly disappeared from my village after an angry quarrel. Some time after an Ashira of that village was out in the forest. He met a very large gorilla. That gorilla was the man who had disappeared; he had turned into a gorilla. He jumped upon the poor Ashira and bit a piece out of his arm; then he let him go. Then the man came back with the bleeding arm. He told me this, I hope we shall not meet such gorillas.' _Chorus_: 'No; we shall not meet such wicked gorillas.' "I myself," says du Chaillu, "afterwards met that man in the Ashira country. I saw his maimed arm and he repeated the same story." Then one of the men spoke up: 'If we kill a gorilla to-morrow, I should like to have a part of the brain for a fetich. Nothing makes a man so brave as to have a fetich of gorilla's brain. That gives a man a strong heart.' _Chorus_ (of those who remained awake) 'Yes; that gives a man a strong heart.'" A fetich of the brain of the gorilla is said also to help its owner in love as well as war.

The Chimpanzee.

The chimpanzee is a near neighbour of the gorilla in Equatorial Africa though he appears to have a more extended range. He is found in Sierra Leone and in the country lying to the north of the river Congo, and according to native accounts is gregarious in his habits, travelling in formidable companies, who carry sticks and make effective use of them. They are said to reach maturity at nine or ten years of age and to attain a height of from four to five feet. Like the gorillas they have immensely powerful limbs, and have been known without apparent effort to break off branches of trees which a man would have been powerless to bend.

The Docility and Sagacity of the Chimpanzee.

The chimpanzee differs from the gorilla in his amenability to civilisation. The gorilla, however young, seems incapable of being tamed; while the chimpanzee in its infancy and youth at least has often been domesticated, though like most other apes, as it approaches maturity, it needs to be kept under strong control. Captain Brown in his "Habits and Characteristics of Animals and Birds" gives the following illustration of the docility and sagacity of the chimpanzee. He says: "M. de Grandpré saw, on board of a vessel, a female chimpanzee, which exhibited wonderful proofs of intelligence. She had learnt to heat the oven; she took great care not to let any of the coals fall out, which might have done mischief in the ship; and she was very accurate in observing when the oven was heated to the proper degree, of which she immediately apprized the baker, who, relying with perfect confidence upon her information, carried his dough to the oven as soon as the chimpanzee came to fetch him. This animal performed all the business of a sailor, spliced ropes, handled the sails, and assisted at unfurling them; and she was, in fact considered by the sailors as one of themselves. The vessel was bound for America; but the poor animal did not live to see that country, having fallen a victim to the brutality of the first mate, who inflicted very cruel chastisement upon her, which she had not deserved. She endured it with the greatest patience, only holding out her hands in a suppliant attitude, in order to break the force of the blows she received. But from that moment she steadily refused to take any food, and died on the fifth day from grief and hunger. She was lamented by every person on board, not insensible to the feelings of humanity, who knew the circumstances of her fate."

The Orang-utan.

The orang-utan is one of the largest of the ape species and until the discovery of the gorilla was supposed to be the largest. It is said sometimes to attain to the height of six feet, and some travellers' tales credit it with even greater height. The orang is possessed of great strength but is of a docile disposition when brought under civilisation, and even in a wild state is often quiet and peaceable except when attacked. It inhabits country that is low, level, and swampy, and that is at the same time covered with lofty virgin forests. It belongs to the genus _Simia_ of which it is the single species.

The Habits of the Orang-utan.

The following account of the orang is given by Mr. Brooke of Sarawak. "On the habits of the orangs, as far as I have been able to observe them, I may remark that they are as dull and as slothful as can well be conceived, and on no occasion, when pursuing them, did they move so fast as to preclude my keeping pace with them easily through a moderately clear forest; and even when obstructions below (such as wading up to the neck) allowed them to get away some distance, they were sure to stop and allow us to come up. I never observed the slightest attempt at defence; and the wood, which sometimes rattled about our ears, was broken by their weight, and not thrown, as some persons represent. If pushed to extremity, however, the pappan could not be otherwise than formidable; and one unfortunate man, who with a party was trying to catch one alive, lost two of his fingers, besides being severely bitten on the face, whilst the animal finally beat off his pursuers and escaped. When hunters wish to catch an adult, they cut down a circle of trees round the one on which he is seated, and then fell that also, and close before he can recover himself, and endeavour to bind him. The rude hut which they are stated to build in the trees would be more properly called a seat, or nest, for it has no roof or cover of any sort. The facility with which they form this seat is curious; and I had an opportunity of seeing a wounded female weave the branches together, and seat herself in a minute. She afterwards received our fire without moving, and expired in her lofty abode, whence it cost us much trouble to dislodge her. The adult male I killed was seated lazily on a tree; and when approached only took the trouble to interpose the trunk between us, peeping at me and dodging as I dodged. I hit him on the wrist, and he was afterwards despatched."

The Walk of the Orang-utan.

In locomotion the orang disdains the earth and perambulates the vernal terraces of the forest trees. "It is a singular sight," says Mr. Wallace, "to watch a mias (orang-utan) making his way leisurely through a forest. He walks deliberately along some of the larger branches in the semi-erect attitude which the great length of his arms and the shortness of his legs cause him naturally to assume, and seems always to choose those branches which intermingle with an adjoining tree, on approaching which he stretches out his long arms, and seizing the opposing boughs, grasps them together with both hands, seems to try their strength, and then deliberately swings himself across to the next branch on which he walks along as before. He never jumps or springs, or even appears to hurry himself, and yet manages to get along almost as quickly as a person can run through the forest beneath."

The Strength of the Orang-utan.

"The Dyaks," says Mr. Wallace, "all declare that the mias is never attacked by any animal in the forest, with two rare exceptions; and the accounts received of these are so curious that I give them nearly in the words of my informants, old Dyak Chiefs, who had lived all their lives in the places where the animal is most abundant. The first of whom I enquired said, 'No animal is strong enough to hurt the mias, and the only creature he ever fights with is the crocodile. When there is no fruit in the jungle he goes to seek food on the banks of the river where there are plenty of young shoots that he likes, and fruits that grow close to the water. Then the crocodile sometimes tries to seize him, but the mias gets upon him and beats him with his hands and feet, and tears and kills him.' He added that he had once seen such a fight and that he believed that the mias is always the victor. My next informant was Orang Kayo or chief of the Balow Dyaks on the Simunjou River. He said the mias has no enemies, no animals dare attack it but the crocodile and the python. He always kills the crocodile by main strength, standing upon it, and pulling open its jaws and ripping up its throat. If a python attacks a mias he seizes it with his hands and then bites it, and soon kills it. The mias is very strong; there is no animal in the jungle so strong as he."

The Docility of the Orang-utan.

Buffon thus describes an orang-utan that he saw: "His aspect was melancholy, his deportment grave, his movements regular, and his disposition gentle. Unlike the baboon or the monkey, who are fond of mischief, and only obedient through fear, a look kept him in awe; while the other animals could not be brought to obey without blows. He would present his hand to conduct the people who came to visit him, and walk as gravely along with them as if he had formed a part of the company. I have seen him sit down at table, when he would unfold his towel, wipe his lips, use a spoon or a fork to carry his victuals to his mouth, pour his liquor into a glass, and make it touch that of a person who drank along with him. When invited to take tea, he would bring a cup and saucer, place them on the table, put in sugar, pour out the tea, and allow it to cool before he drank it. All this I have seen him perform without any other instigation than the signs or the command of his master, and often even of his own accord."

The Orang-utan's Intelligence.

M. de la Bosse thus describes two young orang-utans, male and female. "We had these animals with us on shipboard. They ate at the same table with us. When they wanted anything, they, by certain signs, acquainted the cabin boy with their wishes; and if he did not bring it, they sometimes flew into a rage at him, bit him in the arm, and not unfrequently threw him down. The male fell sick during the voyage, and submitted to be treated like a human patient. The disease being of an inflammatory nature, the surgeon bled him twice in the right arm; and when he afterwards felt himself indisposed, he used to hold out his arm to be bled, because he recollected that he found himself benefited by that operation on a former occasion."

The Orang-utan's Affection.

Dr. Tyson in describing one of the earliest specimens of the orang brought to London, says that it conceived a great affection for those with whom travel had made it familiar, frequently embracing them with the greatest tenderness. A female orang belonging to a Dutch menagerie showed the greatest affection for her attendants, giving unmistakable signs of her delight in their company and distress in their absence. She would often take the hay from her bed and spread it at her side and with anxious and obvious signs invite her keeper to sit beside her. M. Palavicini credited a pair of orangs which he had in his possession in 1759 with the still more remarkable quality in animals of bashfulness. It is said that the female would shrink from the too persistent gaze of a spectator, and throw herself into the arms of the male, hiding her face in his bosom.

The Maternal Instinct.

In his "Marvels and Mysteries of Instinct," Mr. Garrett gives the following instance of maternal affection. "A gentleman was out with a party of men in Sumatra, when in some trees removed from a dense forest a female orang-utan, with a young one in its arms, was discovered, and the pursuit commenced. In the ardour of the moment, and excited by the hope of possessing an animal so rare, the gentleman forgot everything but the prize before him, and urged on his men by the promise of a reward, should their exertions be successful. Thus stimulated they followed up the chase; the animal, encumbered by her young one, making prodigious efforts to gain the dense and intricate recesses of the wood, springing from tree to tree, and endeavouring by every means to elude her pursuers. Several shots were fired, and at length one took fatal effect, the ball penetrating the right side of the chest. Feeling herself mortally wounded, and with the blood gushing from her mouth, she from that moment took no care of herself, but with a mother's feelings summoned up all her dying energies to save her young one. She threw it onwards over the tops of the trees, and from one branch to another, taking the most desperate leaps after it herself, and again facilitating its progress until, the intricacy of the forest being nearly gained, its chances of success were sure. All this time the blood was flowing: but her efforts had been unabated, and it was only when her young one was on the point of attaining to a place of safety that she rested on one of the topmost branches of a gigantic tree. True to her ruling passion, even in death, she turned for a moment to gaze after her young one, reeled, and fell head foremost to the ground. The sight was so touching that it called forth the sympathy of the whole party. The eagerness of the chase subsided; and so deep an impression did the maternal tenderness and unexpected self-devotion of the poor orang make on the gentleman alluded to, whose heart was indeed formed in 'nature's gentlest mould,' that he expressed the utmost remorse and pity, declaring that he would not go through the same scene again for all the world; nor did the tragical death of the animal cease to haunt his mind for many weeks, and he never afterwards recurred to it but with feelings of emotion. The preserved skin is now in the Museum of the Zoological Society."

Gibbons or Long Armed Apes.

The gibbons belong to the genus Hylobates, of which there are several species. They are characterised by the ability to walk almost erect, hence the name Hylobates. They live in the tops of trees, in large companies and possess marvellous powers of locomotion, swinging themselves from tree to tree with such rapidity as to baffle all pursuit. When on the ground they balance themselves in walking by holding their hands above their heads. The adult gibbon is about three feet in height and has a reach of arms of about six feet. The gibbon is tractable and capable of strong affection towards those who show it kindness. One of the Hoolock species petted by Dr. Burrough, became companionable and would sit at his master's breakfast-table, eat eggs and chicken, and drink tea and coffee with great propriety. Fruit was his favourite food, but insects were especially palatable to him and he was an expert in catching flies. The siamang differs from the other species of long-armed apes in the formation of its feet and in several other characteristics. It is, however, similar to the Hoolock in its amenity to kindness and its affection for its master, when brought under the influence of kindly treatment. The gibbons have great strength in their lower limbs, whereby they are enabled to leap surprising distances. M. Duvaneel said he once saw one of these animals clear a space of forty feet, from the branch of a tree. Mr. George Bennet, in his "Wanderings," describes the action of a siamang that belonged to him, which having managed to free himself of his tether, proceeded to embrace the legs of the Malays whom he came across, until he discovered his former master, whereupon he climbed into the Malay's arms and hugged him with the tenderest affection.

Monkeys.

Monkeys differ from the apes we have dealt with in the important characteristic, among others, of possessing tails. These vary in length from inches to feet, in some cases being considerably longer than the body and in others little more than stumps. They vary also in form, some being completely covered with hair, and others only partially so; some apparently useful only as ornaments, others being prehensile, that is capable of grasp, and giving their owners almost the advantage of a fifth limb.

The Sacred Monkeys.

The Sacred Monkeys (_Semnopithecidæ_) include two genera and a large number of species. Among these are the species which bear the name of Hanumán, a Hindoo divinity, and are worshipped in his honour. The protection these monkeys receive on account of the superstitions prevalent concerning them, leads to their large increase in numbers and to many inconveniences arising therefrom. It is said that if a traveller should be unfortunate enough to offend one of these animals he is likely enough to be followed by the whole party howling in a most hideous and discordant manner, and pelting him with any missiles upon which they can lay their hands. There are eighteen species of the Semnopithecus, all of which are found in the East. Of these the Entellus is one of the best known species. It is very susceptible to cold, and cannot live long in Europe.

The Long-nosed Monkey.

The Long-nosed Monkey (_Semnopithecus Larvatus_) belongs to this family and is distinguished, as its name implies, by the length of its proboscis. This animal is described by Wallace as about the size of a child of three years of age, while possessing a nose considerably longer than that of any human adult. From the head to the tip of the tail the proboscis monkey measures about four feet and a half. It is sometimes called the Kahau from its cry which resembles the sound of that word. It is said to hold its nose when leaping to protect it from being injured by the branches of trees. The second genus of this family, of which there are numerous species, belongs to Africa.

Cheek-pouched Monkeys.

The Cheek-pouched Monkeys form the third family of the quadrumana. They include seven genera, and sixty or seventy species, of which five genera belong to Africa and two to Asia and to the Malay Islands. Among the better known of these species is the Talapoin of West Africa; the Diana monkey and the Mona (Africa); the little White-nosed monkey (Guinea); the Grivet (Nubia and Abyssinia); the Green monkey (Cape de Verds); the Patas (Senegal); the Malbrouck monkey; and the Vervet monkey (South Africa). The Green monkey and the Vervet monkey are those most commonly seen in England. One of the best known members of this family is the Baboon.

The Baboon.

The baboon is found in many parts of Africa, and one of its species in Arabia. It is of the genus _cynocephalus_, and some of its species attain to considerable size; the head and face of one species resembling those of a dog, it is sometimes called the dog-faced baboon. The baboon herds in large numbers, and is said to make apparently organized attacks upon villages during the absence of the peasants in harvest time, placing sentinels on the look out, to apprise them of danger, while they visit the houses and take possession of all the food they can find. They are cunning and powerful, and formidable in combat, but, greedy in habit, they eat to excess, and when gorged to satiety fall an easy prey to their enemies. In their wild state they feed on berries and bulbous roots, but when proximity to civilisation gives them wider opportunity, they show their appreciation of a more varied menu. Among the more familiar species of the baboon are the _Chackma_, the _Drill_, the _Mandrill_, the _Anubis_, the _Babouin_, and the _Sphinx_, all of which belong to the West of Africa.

The Arabian Baboon.

The Arabian baboon is an animal with a history. It was worshipped by the Egyptians, who embalmed its body after death and set apart portions of their cemeteries for its use. Sacred to Thoth, the Egyptian Hermes, the God of letters, the baboon sometimes represents that deity in Egyptian sculptures, where it is usually figured in a sitting posture, the attitude in which its body was generally embalmed. The baboon was also held as emblematic of the Moon, and honoured symbolically in other connections. It is commonly represented in judgment scenes of the dead with a pair of scales in front of it, Thoth being supposed to exercise important duties in the final judgment of men. The baboon was held especially sacred at Hermopolis. According to Sir J. G. Wilkinson the Egyptians trained baboons to useful offices, making them torch-bearers at their feasts and festivals.

The Imitative Faculty of the Baboon.

Like others of the monkey tribes the baboon shows an extraordinary faculty for imitation. Captain Browne in his "Characteristics of Animals" says: "The following circumstance is truly characteristic of the imitative powers of the baboon:--The army of Alexander the Great marched in complete battle-array into a country inhabited by great numbers of baboons, and encamped there for the night. The next morning, when the army was about to proceed on its march, the soldiers saw, at some distance, an enormous number of baboons, drawn up in rank and file, like a small army, with such regularity, that the Macedonians, who could have no idea of such a man[oe]uvre, imagined at first that it was the enemy drawn up to receive them."

The Chackma Baboon.

The chackma lives among the mountains of the Cape of Good Hope, where he attains about the size of an English mastiff and even greater strength. He descends to the plains on foraging expeditions, and, when not attacked, will usually make off on the approach of danger, but if aroused to anger can both show and use his teeth, and is far superior to the average English boy in throwing stones.

The Baboon's Utility.