HAND BONES OF THE GORILLA.
HAND BONES OF THE GORILLA.
Having lifted up the arm in the act of climbing, and having grasped something, the third motion commences, the object being to draw up the body to the wrist and fingers, which of course remain as fixed points. All the muscles which intervene between the fore-arm bones and the spines of the back have to contract and shorten, so as to bring the last-named bones towards the fixed point, and they may be divided intothreegroups—those which reach from the arm-bones to the blade-bone, those which connect the blade-bone and the back-bone, and those which unite the arm and the back-bone. All contract at once and shorten the distance between the body and the arm; some fix as it were the blade-bone, and twist it slightly, placing it in a straight line for the pulling of others; and the most important bend and pull down the elbow. Two muscles may be noticed in particular. One which has already been noticed forms the lump on the front of the arm when the wrist is brought close to the shoulder, and is called “biceps,” because it has two heads or points of adhesion to the blade-bone, not far from the joint of the arm-bone. The fibres pass over the arm from the blade-bone down to one of the bones of the fore-arm, in front of the bend of the elbow, and when they contract they tend to bend the elbow and bring the wrist near the shoulder, or the shoulder near the wrist when the fingers are fixed or clasping. The biceps of the Gorilla is a vast muscle, but it wants the symmetry of that of man, and it does not taper downwards so as to make the arm narrower above the elbow. Another muscle is at the back part of the arm, and from having three upper heads or attachments is called the “triceps.” Two of the heads are attached to the arm-bone, and one to the blade-bone, and the lower one is fixed on to the piece of bone of one of the fore-arm bones, on which the arm rests when “elbows are on the table.” Its action is to drag the blade-bone towards that bone, and it is assisted in this by a muscle which passes from the spine to the arm-bone, and whose office in climbing is to drag the spine towards the arm. Finally, there are numerous muscles whichpass from the long spines of the pieces of the back-bone (vertebræ) to the blade-bone, and which in climbing tend to drag the first towards the last-mentioned bones, and to move the body generally upwards. The huge size of the blade-bone assists in this in the Gorilla, as its large surface can give adhesion to larger muscles than a smaller one; and as the arm-bones are large, there is all the more room for muscular play.
Considering the bulk of the body of a Gorilla, and the nature of the movements of climbing, it is to be expected that those muscles and bones which are connected, as just stated, with the blade-bone, should be large and strong. This is remarkably the case. On examining the back of a Gorilla one is struck with the great projection of the back-bones in the neck. In man each back-bone or vertebra has a projection or spine which sticks out backwards more or less. These are small in the region of the neck, but in the Gorilla these spines are very long there, and give a peculiar hump-necked appearance. Their size, however, is in exact relation with the size and strength of the muscles attached to them, and some of these go to the blade-bone to assist in the act of climbing.
It is this hump-necked appearance and the round-backed look produced by the great size of the blade-bones which make a Gorilla so ugly about the chest and head, but beauty is of much less use in an African forest than good stout bones and active muscles.
The hind part of the neck does not form a graceful curve as in a well-made man, but a projection which gradually slopes into the line of the back. Moreover, the shoulders of the Gorilla do not slope from the neck—on the contrary, their direction is that which renders the hand-over-hand movement of climbing the readiest of commencement. They are “high,” as the term is, the head and neck being as it were sunken between them, so that the chin, instead of being on a much higher level than the top of the breast-bone, is naturally lower than it. The front of the neck is thus hidden by the huge lower jaw.
Gorillas have collar-bones which are in the same position as those in man, but they are straighter, stouter, and stronger: they are not placed almost horizontally between the front of the blade-bone and the breast-bone, as in us, but as the shoulders are “high” they slant downwards to the breast-bone. By placing the hand on the upper part of the opposite side of the chest the collar-bone may be felt with the tips of the fingers like a ridge, and it is one which many know to their cost is very readily broken by a fall on the end of the shoulders. The bone is something like the letterfin outline, without the cross-bar, and it is fixed at both ends: so when a force acts on one end in the direction of the length of the bone it tends to bend, and often cracks and breaks across.
Now a fractured collar-bone would be a serious thing to a Gorilla; he could no longer lift up his arm, and he would be in constant peril and difficulty; hence, Nature has given him not only a very strong and straight bone, but has by the “high” shoulder posture rendered a fall on the top of it almost impossible. A fall would probably injure the upper part of the arm, which is well protected by the thick cushion of muscle, flesh, and hairy skin which covers the bone.
Travellers and hunters have noticed the rapidity and ease with which the Gorilla moves when off the ground, and when the size and the weight of the animal are considered it becomes evident that not only must it have great muscular power but a stout heart, good circulation, and capital “wind.”
It must be remembered also that it is a great eater of vegetable food, and that it has to consume a large quantity to obtain a supply of nourishment: in other words, it has a very capacious stomach, which has to be carried about and kept very well filled.
In order to meet these requirements there is a very capacious chest (much more so than in man), which contains the large lungs and heart, and the belly is flaccid and large, so that the stomach need not press upwards and interfere with the breathing, or with the action of the circulation. Man has twelve ribs on either side, but the Gorilla has thirteen, each of which is longer, stouter, and broader than ours, the result being to make the cavity enclosed by them the greater, but apparently less readily influenced by the muscles of respiration.
When we breathe deeply and endeavour to inspire more than is usual we employ certain muscles which act on the ribs, enlarging the cavity of the chest, and then diminishing it as the expiration occurs. The larger the spaces between the ribs, and the more elastic the ribs themselves, the greater is their possible amount of movement. In us it is very great in the child, great in man, but much less in old age, when the elasticity of the ribs diminishes. In the Gorilla, the breadth and strength of the ribskeep the cavity of the chest always vast, and certainly from their solidity and from the small space which exists between the successive ribs, great and unusual efforts of respiration are not very possible. So large is the cavity of the chest in the Gorilla, and so capacious are the lungs, that it is possibly not necessary for it to put itself out of breath, and to call extraordinary muscular exertion into play, during its uneventful life.
Having thirteen ribs on either side, and each rib being attached to a separate bone of the spine, the Gorilla has therefore one more spine bone (vertebra) than man, and is all the more long-backed. Moreover, the breast-bone, which is on the front of the chest, is broader in the Gorilla than in man, and at least one-third longer, thus adding to the capacity of the cavity of the chest, making it of about 500 cubic inches; that of man being 330 cubic inches.
The lungs and heart of the great Ape resemble those of man, and the great arteries are given off from the main blood-vessel in the same manner in both.
The Gorillas appear to be great eaters, and to roam about, either in small bands or alone, seeking for their favourite food in the forest, and the plantations close by. Sometimes they seek the high plains and rough ground of the hills, especially where certain trees are found, and they invariably cling to the forests about water. They eat the cabbage of the palm nut tree, and partake of the papau, banana, and amomum fruits. Wild sugar-canes attract them, and they are especially fond of the succulent white parts of the pine-apple and its leaves. Some hard kinds of nuts are readily cracked with their huge teeth, which are also brought into use in tearing open the stems of juicy plants.
All the examinations of the dead bodies of the Gorillas prove their diet to consist of such things, and the remains of berries, pine-apple leaves, and other vegetable matters were found, but not flesh or anything like it. This food is, however, not very nourishing, and it must be taken in large quantities and frequently. Hence the animal must not only have good climbing powers to get his food, but a large stomach and intestines to digest it rapidly. There is no doubt that the figure of the Gorilla testifies to its kind of food. The abdomen is very large, and sticks out when the animal is in the erect position; its paunch is vast, and therefore the bones which support it below, or the haunch bones, are very wide.
These haunch-bones form part of a girdle of bones which, in a skeleton, unites the legs to the spine, and which contains, in living animals, the bladder, part of the reproductive organs, and the unborn young.
It is called the pelvis, or basin-shaped bone (being very unlike one); its upper edge is formed by the expanded haunch, or ilium bones (ilium, or gut, alluding to the support given by the bone to the bowels), and its lower one by the bones on which men and Gorillas sit, or the hip (the ischium, or hip-bone). In the Gorilla the pelvis is enormous, and the edge of the haunches is long, so as to give attachment to the muscles which enclose the vast digestive apparatus behind and at the side, but it does not form a graceful curve behind and below, for certain muscles which are of great use to man in maintaining the erect posture, and which straighten the thigh in the body, are weak in the great Ape. These muscles originate outside and below the top of the haunch, and when large and strong, require a peculiar shape of bone: they form in man what does not exist in the Gorilla, and that in which the Hottentot Venus glories. But the Gorilla can sit just as well upon a pair of short and expanded hip-bones (ischial tuberosities, in the language of anatomists), and as he has no tail (the bones forming it in other Monkeys being diminished in number and united in a short process), he can do so for a considerable time with comfort. The sitting in the upright position is moderately easy to the Gorilla, and the older ones evidently often do so. They squat and rest their broad backs against a tree, and as this is a very constant and favourite position, they wear a good deal of their back hair off.
The fate of a hunter is thus given by Du Chaillu, who pledges himself to three very debatable points: that the Gorilla meets its enemy erect; stands and fights; and kills by a blow across the abdomen:—“We set off towards a dark valley where Gambo said we should find our prey. The Gorilla chooses the darkest, gloomiest forests, for its home is found on the edges of the clearings only when in search of plantains, sugar-canes, or pine-apples. Often they choose for their peculiar haunt a wood, so dark that even at midday one can scarce see ten yards. This makes it the more necessary to wait till the monstrous beast approaches near before shooting, in order that the first shot may be fatal. It does not often let the hunter reload. Our little party separated, as is the custom, to stalk the wood in various directions. Gambo and I kept together. One brave fellow went alone, in a direction where he thought he could find a Gorilla. The other three took another course. We had been about an hour separated, when Gambo and I heard a gun fired, but a little way from us, and presently another. We were already on our way to the spot, where we hoped to see a Gorilla slain, when the forest began to resound with the most terrific roars. Gambo seized my arm in great agitation, and we hurried on, both filled with a dreadful and sickening alarm. We had not gone far when our worst fears were realised. The poor brave fellow, who had gone off alone, was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, and I thought, at first, quite dead. His bowels were protruding through the lacerated abdomen. Beside him lay his gun. The stock was broken, and the barrel was bent and flattened. It bore plainly the marks of the Gorilla’s teeth. We picked him up, and I dressed his wounds as well as I could with rags torn from my clothes. When I had given him a little brandy to drink he came to himself, and was able, but with great difficulty, to speak. He said he had met the Gorilla suddenly, and face to face, and that it had not attempted to escape. It was, he said, a large male, and seemed very savage. It was in a gloomy part of the wood, and the darkness I suppose made him miss. He said he took good aim, and fired when the beast was only about eight yards off. The ball merely wounded it in the side, and it at once began beating its breasts, and with the greatest rage advanced upon him. To run away was impossible, for he would have been caught in the jungle before he had gone a dozen steps. He stood his ground, and, as quickly as he could, reloaded his gun. Just as he raised it to fire, the Gorilla dashed it out of his hand, the gun going off in the fall; and then in an instant, and with a terrible roar, the animal gave him a tremendous blow with its immense open paw, frightfully lacerating the abdomen, and with this single blow laying bare part of the intestines. As he sank bleeding to the ground, the monster seized the gun, and the poor hunter thought he would have his brains dashed out with it. But the Gorilla seemed to have looked upon this also as an enemy, and in his rage almost flattened the barrel between his strong jaws.”
In spite of this anecdote, and some drawings by Du Chaillu, which represent the Gorilla standing erect, it is very doubtful, from anatomical reasons, whether this is possible. The comparative smallness of some of the most important muscles in the Gorilla, which in man produce the erect position, has already been noticed, and it is now necessary, for the same reasons, to examine into the nature of the lower limbs.
The thigh-bone (called from the Latin,femur) of the Gorilla is shorter than the arm-bone, the reverse being the case in man; and hence the Ape appears to be too short in the legs for its long body and arms. It is stout and rather straight, and has not the forward bend of the same bone in man: moreover, some well-marked ridges which run down the back of it, and which were exceedingly well developed in the oldest races of men, are deficient in the Gorilla. The same may be said for the markings on the bone, which indicate the presence of powerful muscles whose action is to keep the thigh straight with the back—or in other words, to keep the body erect. Below the knee are the two bones of the leg: the inner one, or shin-bone (the tibia), is very short for the height of the animal, and the joint on its lower part, on which moves the ankle-bone, is not so deep and perfect as in man, whose weight is constantly to be borne on it whilst it is being moved in walking. The little outside bone, calledfibula, or the clasp-bone, in the Gorilla is so made that it adds singularly to the inability to maintain the erect posture whilst walking, and even in standing still. The lower end of this bone in man forms the prominence outside the ankle, and covers and protects the outside of the topmost bone of the ankle, to which the foot is attached. It strengthens it and prevents that turning in of the foot, which is antagonistic to the placing the sole flat on the surface of the earth, so that it can receive the weight of the body on its broad space and allow of the position so characteristic of man. In the Gorilla this bone does not come down as far as the ankle, and all the safeguards against intwisting are not present. Why, is clear enough, because the Gorilla treads on the outside of its foot-like hand, and always has the sole turned in. There are some other points which require to be noticed, however, about the leg. It is short and evidently wanting in “calf.” It is therefore deficient in that symmetry of which many mortals are most proud. Nevertheless, it has a high instep, also a human desideratum; but in spite of this the ankles are thick and shapeless-looking. The tendon whichreaches from the calf to the back heel-bone (os calcis) gives a slender appearance to the lower limb of man, but there is no myth about a Gorilla having been held by that slim spot and dipped in Styx, to be for ever invulnerable elsewhere. This tendon (tendo Achillis) so characteristic of man, is supplied with muscular fibres close to its insertion into the heel-bone in the Gorilla, which thus gains in strength what it loses in elegance. A snapping of the tendon would be indeed a grave matter in the huge Ape, and Nature has thus provided against this accident.
HUNTING THE GORILLA.
HUNTING THE GORILLA.
The thick ankles of the Gorilla are rather exaggerated by the hair which covers them, and it is found over the whole of the upper surface of the foot to the clefts of the toes. The sole is not thus covered, and its bare state enables grasping to be performed with ease, while the absence of hair assists the delicacy of the sense of touch. Another cause of the ugly appearance of the foot is the backward projection of the heel, and the hand-like look is of course given by the great toe-thumb, which projects from the side of the foot at an angle of 60 degrees at least. The sole is narrow behind, and expands to where the great toe-thumb projects, so as to become very wide close to the clefts between the other toes. It is marked with lines or indentations, and there is a kind of pad beneath the ball of the great toe-thumb. The Gorilla seizes objects and grasps boughs with its feet, the great toe-thumb being exceedingly movable to and fro as well as across the sole of the foot. Hence the hand-like appearance of the foot and the thumb-like appendage of the great toe. Yet it is a foot, and the movable toe is not really a thumb.
Each kind of animal must be compared with others, some of which appear to be more complicated and some less highly organised, so that its peculiar construction can be comprehended. Man, as the perfection of living forms, is naturally considered the model or type with which all others should be compared, and therefore anatomists who begin by studying man name the bones, muscles, and other structures of animals after his. That is to say, any of their structures which are comparable with those of man, by their native position and use, are named similarly.
The question then arises, and can of course on this principle be answered, are the hinder extremities of the Gorilla feet or hands? do they resemble human feet or human hands in their anatomy, or in the arrangement of their bones, muscles, leaders, and blood-vessels?
By placing side by side the joined bones of the foot of man and those of the hind extremity of the Gorilla, it will be observed that the same number are present, and that they can be compared, as regards their shape and position, in a most remarkable and satisfactory manner.
A human foot is composed of three parts, so far as its bones are concerned. These are the toes, or the very movable bones in the front of the foot (1), and then there are five slender bones (2) placed side by side, and reaching from the toes to the pieces forming the back of the foot or ankle. The five bones thus parallel, and situated between the beginning of the toes and the ankle-bones, are counted from within outwards. That attached to the great toe is the first, and that to the little toe is the fifth. These are called metatarsal bones, and give length and narrowness to the foot, and they can be readily felt with the finger on our own bodies.
BONES OF THE ANKLEAND FOOT OF MAN.BONES OF THE ANKLEAND FOOT OF THE GORILLA.
BONES OF THE ANKLEAND FOOT OF MAN.
BONES OF THE ANKLEAND FOOT OF MAN.
BONES OF THE ANKLEAND FOOT OF THE GORILLA.
BONES OF THE ANKLEAND FOOT OF THE GORILLA.
Behind them are the seven bones of the “tarsus,” or ankle, all connected together in a strong arch, and jointed in front to the five bones just mentioned, and above to the two bones of the leg. The hindmost part of the ankle or heel is formed by the heel-bone, os calcis (3), which forms the back part of the arch of the sole. The Achilles tendon is united to it behind, and above it is jointed with a bone, on which rest the bones of the leg, the astragalus bone (4), so called from the Greek word, which means a “die,” for the boys and men in the olden time tossed these bones, and played with those of the sheep as modern boys do.
There are two bones of the ankle just in front of these; one in contact with the heel-bone is called, from its shape, the cuboid or cube-shaped bone (5), and the other, jointed to the astragalus, is, from its faint resemblance to a boat or hull of a ship (navis), termed the navicular bone (6). In front of these two are three others placed side by side, and jointed in front to some of the metatarsal bones. They are called, from their wedge-shaped outlines (wedges for the arch of the foot), cuneiform bones (7), and there are the inner, middle, and outer of them. The inner is curved on its front surface, and has a joint there for the end of the slender (metatarsal) bone of the great toe. It is longer than the next wedge-shaped bone, so that just a little spot of the second slender bone of the second toe touches it close to the corresponding one of the great toe. This inner wedge-shaped bone, the metatarsal bone of the great toe, and the joints of the toe itself, are all on a line, which is parallel to the bones of the next and other toes. The middle and the outer wedge-shaped bones have each a slender metatarsal bone attached to them, and the two remaining slender metatarsals are jointed on to the cube-shaped bone which projects in front of the heel-bone (os calcis). It is the length in front, and the solidity and arched form of the ankle, together with theparalleldirection of all the slendermetatarsal bones, which give the human foot its beauty of form, strength, and ability to sustain the weight of the body flat on the sole. Compare the hinder grasping (so-called) hand of the Gorilla with this.
At first sight there is a great difference, for the great toe and its metatarsal bone forman anglewith the bones of the other toes and their metatarsals. Instead of the toes and their slender bones being parallel and fixed in this position, the great toe of the Gorilla has a power of moving so as to cross the foot more or less below, as the human thumb can cross the palm. It has also the capacity of being stretched out from the foot, so that its movements greatly resemble those of a thumb. In fact, we want a word to express a toe-thumb.
On examining the foot carefully, it will be found that each of its bones may be compared and identified in position and office with the same in man. There is a heel-bone with a great projection behind, for the fixing on of the Achilles tendon, and this is jointed on to a bone above, like the human die-bone or astragalus, and to one in front, like the cuboid. The astragalus resembles that of man, but the upper and outer surfaces on which the lower ends of the leg-bones move, are slightly different, so as to admit of greater turning in of the ankle. The wedge-shaped bones are there, and the inner one, with its joint for the slender bone of the great toe, is shorter and broader than in man, so as to allow of great movement of the toe-thumb in front of it. The slender bones, or metatarsals, are larger and longer, but their shape and direction, with the exception of the first, are singularly like those of man. As a whole the foot of the Gorilla, for thus it must be called, is broader in front of the ankle-bones and longer everywhere than in us, but it has a sideway and almost club-foot look about it; its position is “turned in,” like the foot of a young child before it walks. This is owing to the conformation and easy jointing of the bones of the ankle and foot, and also to the action of a front muscle of the leg which pulls the very movable bones inwards. The structures allow of a very ready turning in of the ankle and foot, and such as would render climbing easy with the aid of the toe-thumb; but they evidently interfere with the steadiness in walking. It is a huge foot, and it is only half an inch or so shorter than the leg below the knee; it is unwieldy as a foot, but is a capital foot-hand, which cannot readily have its toes stretched out straight, for their usual position is that of being slightly bent in the direction of the sole.
Mr. Walker purchased from a native a fine healthy male Gorilla, apparently about two years of age, and shipped it for England. Being under the impression that he had taken too much care of all the other living ones which he had obtained at different times, he determined to let the new acquisition have its own way, and only take care that it did no mischief. When purchased, the animal was by no means strange or spiteful, but rather what may be termed shy, and suspicious of strangers. At the expiration of about a week, however, it became sufficiently tame and confiding to admit of its being allowed to run about loose, and to do as it liked. At the same time its food, instead of being confined to the fruits on which it is supposed to feed in its wild state, consisted in general of fragments from the table, and beside these it had anything edible it could lay its hands on, and occasionally a basin of condensed milk and a raw egg beaten up in it was given. It liked amomum fruit, but this produced diarrhœa which had to be treated with chlorodyne and raw egg. Finding that the animal became restive, it was left entirely to its own devices, and especially as every one in the ship was at the same time so very busy as not to be able to pay much attention to it. It soon became quite at home, alternately eating, sleeping, and playing with a large bull-terrier (of by no means the most amiable disposition), which had a most decided dislike to negroes, but nevertheless took very kindly to the Gorilla, so that the two animals became constant playfellows. By allowing the Gorilla to rough it, instead of watching it, and appointing someone to take care of it, in which case these animals become so much attached to their keeper or attendant, that a separation from him almost invariably causes these affectionate Apes to pine away and die, and by habituating it to such food as is generally to be found on shipboard, it was hoped that it might be brought to England. But accidents will happen, even to Gorillas. It came down to dinner one day, and ate scraps with the dog, and went to sleep. When looked for, some hours afterwards, it was missing, and must have fallen off the taffrail into the sea. Strangely enough, this young one was not given to climbing. It will be noticed that these remarks are totally at variance with those of M. Du Chaillu, who was impressed with the untamable character of the Gorilla; so we must wait until further evidence is produced, and probably until a little Gorilla is safely lodged in the Regent’s Park.
Many attempts have been made to obtain a live Gorilla for exhibition in Europe, and some years since a showman really had one which he called a Chimpanzee, but the fact was not known to scientific men until a photograph of the creature was exhibited after its death. In June, 1876, Mr. Moore, the learned curator of the Free Public Museum, wrote to theTimesafter seeing a young Gorilla in Liverpool. He stated—“A veritable young living Gorilla was yesterday brought into Liverpool by the German African Society’s Expedition, which arrived by the steamshipLoanda, from the West Coast. The animal is a young male, in the most perfect health and condition, and measures nearly three feet in height. Its beetling brows, flattened podgy nose, black muzzle, small ears, and thick fingers, cleft only to the second joint, distinguish it unmistakably from the Chimpanzee.
“Could it have graced our own Zoological Gardens it would have been the lion of the day; for, in addition to the great scientific interest of the species, the abounding life, energy, and joyous spirits of this example would have made it a universal favourite. Courteously received at Eberle’s Alexandra Hotel by the members of the Exhibition, I found the creature romping and rolling in full liberty about the private drawing-room, now looking out of the window with all becoming gravity and sedateness, as though interested, but not disconcerted, by the busy multitude and novelty without, then bounding rapidly along on knuckles and feet to examine and poke fun at some new comer, playfully mumbling at his calves, pulling at his beard (a special delight), clinging to his arms, examining his hat (not at all to its improvement), curiously inquisitive as to his umbrella, and so on with visitor after visitor. If he becomes over excited by the fun, a gentle box on the ear would bring him to order like a child, like a child only to be on the romp again immediately. He points with the index finger, claps with his hands, pouts out his tongue, feeds on a mixed diet, decidedly prefers roast meats to boiled, eats strawberries, as I saw, with delicate appreciativeness, is exquisitely clean and mannerly. The palms of his hands and feet are beautifully plump, soft, and black as jet. He has been eight months and a half in the possession of the Expedition, has grown some six inches in that time, and is supposed to be between two and three years of age.” Nearly every other attempt to rear them in Europe has failed. The Zoological Society has, at rare intervals, possessed specimens of young Gorillas, but the climate of England would appear to be quite unsuited to them, for, despite Mr. Bartlett’s every care and attention, none of these interesting creatures survived for any length of time.
Du Chaillu insists on the ill-temper, ferocity, and untamable nature of the young Gorilla, as the results of his experience. One was brought to him about three years of age, with its neck put in the cleft of a stick to keep it quiet, and after much trouble they got it into a bamboo cage. It was a little black thing of two feet six inches in height, and its habits, escapes, and death are amusingly told.“As soon as I had the little fellow safely locked in his cage, I ventured to approach to say a few encouraging words to him. He stood in the furthest corner, but, as I approached, he bellowed and made a precipitate rush at me; and though I retreated as quickly as I could he succeeded in catching my trouser leg, which he grasped with one of his feet, and tore, retreating immediately to the corner furthest away. This taught me caution for the present, though I had a hope still to be able to tame him. He sat in his corner looking wickedly out of his grey eyes, and I never saw a more morose or more ill-tempered face than had this little beast. The first thing was, of course, to attend to the wants of my captive. I sent for some of the forest-berries which these animals are known to prefer, and placed these and a cup of water within his reach. He was exceedingly shy, and would neither eat nor drink till I had removed to a considerable distance. The second day found Joe, as I had named him, fiercer than the first. He rushed savagely at any one who stood even for a moment near his cage, and seemed ready to tear us all to pieces. I threw him some pine-apple leaves, of which I noticed he ate only the white parts. There seemed no difficulty about his food, though he refused now, and continued during his short life to refuse, all food except such wild leaves and fruits as were gathered from his native woods for him. The third day he was still morose and savage, bellowing when any person approached, and either retiring to a distant corner or rushing to attack. On the fourth day, while no one was near, the little rascal succeeded in forcing apart two of the bamboo rails which composed his cage, and made his escape. I came up just as his flight was discovered, and immediately got all the negroes together for pursuit, determining to surround the wood and recapture my captive. I was startled by an angry growl issuing from under my low bedstead. It was Master Joe, who lay there hid, but anxiously watching my movements. I instantly shut the windows, and called to my people to guard the door. When Joe saw the crowd of black faces he became furious, and, with his eyes glaring, and every sign of rage in his little face and body, got out from beneath the bed. We shut the door at the same time and left him master of the premises, preferring to devise some plan for his easy capture rather than to expose ourselves to his terrible teeth. How to take him was now a puzzling question. He had shown such strength and such rage already, that not even I cared to run the chance of being badly bitten in a hand-to-hand struggle. Meantime Joe stood in the middle of the room looking about for his enemies, and examining, with some surprise, the furniture. I watched with fear, lest the ticking of my clock should strike his ear, and perhaps lead him to an assault upon that precious article. Indeed, I should have left Joe in possession, but for a fear that he would destroy the many articles of value or curiosity I had hung about the walls. Finally, seeing him quite quiet, I dispatched some fellows for a net, and opening the door quickly, threw this over his head. Fortunately we succeeded at the first throw in perfectly entangling the young monster, who roared frightfully, and struck and kicked in every direction. I took hold of the back of his neck, two men seized his arms, and another the legs, and thus held by four men this extraordinary little creature still proved most troublesome. We carried him as quickly as we could to the cage, which had been repaired, and there once more locked him in. I never saw so furious a beast in my life as he was. He darted at every one who came near, bit the bamboos of the house, glared at us with venomous and sullen eyes, and in every motion showed a temper thoroughly wicked and malicious. As there was no change in this for two days thereafter, but continual moroseness, I tried what starvation would do towards breaking his spirit; also, it began to be troublesome to procure his food from the woods, and I wanted him to become accustomed to civilised food, which was placed before him. But he would touch nothing of the kind; and as for temper, after starving him twenty-four hours, all I gained was that he came slowly up and took some berries from the forest out of my hand, immediately retreating to his corner to eat them. Daily attentions from me for a fortnight more did not bring me any further confidence from him than this. He always snarled at me, and only whenveryhungry would he take even his choicest food from my hands. At the end of this fortnight I came to feed him, and found that he had gnawed a bamboo to pieces slyly, and again made his escape. Luckily he had but just gone; for, as I looked around, I caught sight of Master Joe making off on all-fours, and with great speed, across the little prairie, for a clump of trees. I called the men up, and we gave chase. He saw us, and before we could head him off made for another clump. This we surrounded. He did not ascend a tree, but stood defiantly at the border of the wood. About one hundred and fifty of us surrounded him. As we moved up he began to yell, and made a sudden dash upon a poor fellow who was in advance, who ran, tumbled down in affright, and, by his fall, escaped, but also detained Joe sufficiently long for the nets to be brought to bear upon him. Four of us again bore him, struggling, into the village. This time I could not trust him to the cage, but had a little light chain fastened around his neck. This operation he resisted with all his might, and it took us quite an hour to securely chain the little fellow, whose strength was something marvellous. Ten days after he was thus chained he died suddenly. He was in good health, and ate plentifully of his natural food, which was brought every day for him; did not seem to sicken until two days before his death, and died in some pain. To the last he continued entirely untamable; and, after his chains were on, added the vice of treachery to his others.”
In one of his hunting excursions Du Chaillu obtained a younger Gorilla than the last, but its end was sad enough.
“I was accessory to its capture,” writes Du Chaillu,“and we were walking along in silence, when I heard a cry, and presently saw before me a female Gorilla, with a tiny baby Gorilla hanging to her breast and sucking. The mother was stroking the little one, and looking fondly down at it; and the scene was so pretty and touching that I held my fire, and considered—like a soft-hearted fellow—whether I had not better leave them in peace. Before I could make up my mind, however, my hunter fired and killed the mother, who fell without a struggle. The mother fell, but the baby clung to her, and, with pitiful cries, endeavoured to attract her attention. I came up, and when it saw me it hid its poor little head in its mother’s breast. It could neither walk nor bite, so we could easily manage it; and I carried it, while the men bore the mother on a pole. When we got to the village another scene ensued. The men put the body down, and I set the little fellow near. As soon as he saw his mother he crawled to her, and threw himself on her breast. He did not find his accustomed nourishment, and I saw that he perceived something was the matter with the old one. He crawled over her body, smelt at it, and gave utterance, from time to time, to a plaintive cry—‘Hoo, hoo, hoo!’ which touched my heart. I could get no milk for this poor little fellow, who could not eat, and consequently died on the third day after he was caught. He seemed more docile than the other I had, for he already recognised my voice, and would try to hurry towards me when he saw me. I put the little body in alcohol, and sent it to Dr. Wyman, of Boston, for dissection.”
Of course all the stories about the Gorilla are not believed, and those of all writers, from Hanno downwards, have been severely criticised.
A distinguished African traveller, Winwood Reade, stated that the name, leaving alone the stories, of Hanno, was a blunder, and that the word Gorilla was misapplied, because the habits of the creature do not tally with the story. The Gorillæ of Hanno were found, it is supposed, on Sherboro Island; they scaled rocks and defended themselves with stones. They could neither have been Gorillas nor Chimpanzees, but a species of Cynocephalus, or Dog-faced Monkey or Baboon. “These animals,” writes this author, “which I have seen often enough, go in troops, which Gorillas do not, and actually defend themselves with stones, a fact which I assert not only on the evidence of natives, but on the evidence of white men who have kept them in a state of captivity. They are also very ferocious, and will always defend themselves when attacked either by man or beast. I spent five months,” he continues, “in the Gorilla country, and did not leave that part of Africa till I had completely satisfied myself respecting the habits of this animal. The evidence which I now lay before you is composed of statements made to me by men who had killed Gorillas. It is collected from three distinct parts of Equatorial Africa, namely, from the Balengi of the Muni River, from the Shekani and Fans, of the Gaboon, and from the Commi, Bakeli, &c., of the Fernando Vaz. But from the last river, where Gorillas are plentiful, I obtained the most information.”
“The Gorilla is found in those thick and solitary places of the forest where animal life is scarce. His food is strictly vegetable. He moves along the ground on all-fours, sometimes he goes up into trees to feed on fruit, and at night he sleeps in a large tree. When the female is pregnant, the male builds a nest, where she is confined, and which she abandons as soon as her young one is born. The Gorilla does not beat its breast like a drum. It utters a kind of short sharp bark when enraged, and its ordinary cry is of a plaintive nature. With respect to its ferocity, the hunters have a proverb, ‘Leave aNginaalone, and it will leave you alone.’ When it is at bay, and wounded, it will attack man like the stag, the elephant, and other animals which are naturally timid. But it makes its attack on all-fours, and the hunters, who are themselves as nimble as Apes, often escape from it as men escape from the charge of an elephant. I have seen a man who was wounded by a Gorilla; his wrist was crippled, and the marks of the teeth were visible. He told me that the Gorilla seized his wrist, and dragged it into his mouth; it was contented with having done this, and then made off. The nearest approach to an erect posture which the Gorilla attains is by supporting itself by hanging on to the branches. When I asked the people of Ngumbi whether a man had ever been killed by a Gorilla, they said that their fathers had spoken of such a thing, but that nothing of the kind had happened within the memory of anybody living. Such is the evidence of the native hunters upon the habits of the Gorilla. I could not find that it differed in any important respect from the Chimpanzee, except in its superior size and strength, and in its certainly being more formidable when wounded. But when I asked the hunters which was the most dangerous, the Leopard or the Gorilla, they replied the ‘Leopard.’
“I can make one or two positive assertions from my own experience. Although I never succeeded in viewing a Gorilla in its wild state, I can assert that it travels on all-fours, for I have seen the tracks of its four feet over and over again. I can assert that it runs away from man, for I have been near enough to hear one running away from me; and I can assert that the young Gorilla is as docile as the young Chimpanzee in captivity, for I have seen them both in a state of captivity. I have also seen the lying-in nests both of Chimpanzees and Gorillas, the latter being the larger of the two. The Chimpanzee has the character of being more intelligent than his big brother.” This careful traveller doubted some of the stories told by M. Du Chaillu about Gorilla killing, so he went to theneighbourhood 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 Chaillu 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. I examined Etia, a hunter, in whose company M. Du Chaillu professes to have killed Gorillas, by each interpreter separately. I examined in the same manner the five 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.”
YOUNG GORILLA AND DOG.
YOUNG GORILLA AND DOG.
Still later accounts from able naturalists confirm Winwood Reade’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, &c.—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 withouthearing or seeing any signs of large animal life. But of all the mammals the Monkeys are the most numerous, and the Gorilla reigns supreme. He has the forest to himself, and but few enemies. He has companions, however, nearly of his own size, and whose description we owe to Du Chaillu, and they are so constructed, anatomically, that they link on, as it were, this greatest of all Apes with the well-known Chimpanzee, which is also indigenous to the Gorilla land. The new Apes are the Nschiego Mbouvé, or Tschiégo, and the Koolo-Kamba.