[Illustration: CHIMPANZEE.]
Of all known Monkeys, the Chimpanzee in its habits, its motions and its
intelligence, comes nearest to the human species. In the first place its
arms are not so long as those of the other Monkeys described; they
scarcely reach below the knee when the Chimpanzee is standing erect. And
although it seldom wears a beard like the “Wild Man of the Woods,” its
face and ears and the palms of its hands are entirely without hair,
giving it a much more Human appearance; and in walking, its “hind-hands”
are often planted quite firmly on the ground like our feet, instead of
walking on the sides of them. When walking erect, it is fond of using a
large stick to help support it, and this gives it a manly appearance of
carrying a cane. Another favorite manner of walking is to bend down and
touch its fingers to the ground, then by keeping the legs bent, it
swings itself along by the means of its arms as by a pair of crutches.
The Chimpanzee inhabits the same regions as the Gorilla—the dense
forests of Africa, and another point of resemblance is that the
Chimpanzees live in small troops while they are young, and alone or in
couples in adult life. But unlike the Gorillas they are great climbers
and pass nearly all their time on trees, seeking the fruits which
constitute their food.
There is a kind of Chimpanzee called by the natives “Nshiego-mbouve,”
which builds a kind of leafy nest among the boughs of the loftiest
trees. This nest is composed of small interlaced branches with a tight
roof of leaves. It is fixed with firmly tied bands, and is generally
from six to eight feet in diameter, and presents the form of a dome, an
arrangement which readily throws off the rain.
The Nshiego is distinguished from the ordinary Chimpanzee, by the
absence of hair on its head, and it is sometimes called the Bald
Chimpanzee.