[Footnote L: Orang-outang is the name this animal bears in the
East-Indies; _pongo_, its denomination at Lowando, a province of Congo;
and Kukurlacko in some parts of the East-Indies.]
We shall present the Orang-outang and the Jocko together, because
they, possibly, belong to the same species. Of all the ape and monkey
kinds, these bear the greatest resemblance to the human form, and
consequently, those which are most worthy particular notice. We have
seen the small orang-outang, or jocko (_fig. 195._) alive, and have
preserved its skin; but we can only speak of the pongo, or great
orang-outang, from the accounts given us by travellers. If their
relations might be depended on, if they were not often obscure, faulty,
and exaggerated, we should not doubt of its being a different species
from the jocko, a species more perfect, and approaching still nearer to
the human race. Bontius, who was head physician at Batavia, and who has
left some excellent observations on the Natural History of that part of
India, expressly says, that he saw with admiration, some individuals
of this species walking erect on two feet, and among others a female
(of which he gives a figure) who seemed to have an idea of modesty,
covering herself with her hand on the appearance of men with whom
she was not acquainted; who sighed, cried, and did a number of other
actions, so like the human race, that she wanted nothing of humanity
but the gift of speech. Linnæus, upon the authority of Kjoep and
other travellers, says, that even this faculty is not wanting in the
orang-outang, but that he thinks, speaks, and expresses his meaning in
a whistling tone. He calls him the _Nocturnal Man_, and at the same
time gives such a description of him, that it is impossible to decide
whether he is a brute or human being. We must, however, remark, that,
according to Linnæus, this being, whatever he may be, is not above
half the height of a man; and as Bontius makes no mention of the size
of his orang-outang, we should imagine them to be the same: but, then,
this animal of Linnæus and Bontius would not be the true orang-outang,
which is of the size of a very tall man: neither can he be what we
call the _Jocko_, which I have seen alive; for although he was of
the same size as that described by Linnæus, yet he differed in every
other character. I can affirm, from having repeatedly seen him, that
he neither spake nor expressed himself by a whistling noise, and that
he did not perform a single thing which a well instructed dog could
not perform: He differed in almost every respect from the description
which Linnæus gives of the orang-outang, and agreed much better with
that of the _satyrus_ of the same author. I therefore greatly doubt
the truth of the description of this _nocturnal man_; I even doubt his
existence; and it was probably a white negro, a _Chacrelas_, whom those
travellers, which Linnæus has quoted, have but superficially seen, and
as blindly described, for the Chacrelas, like the nocturnal man of
this author, has white, woolly, frizly hair, red eyes, a weak sight,
&c. But then they are men, and do not whistle; nor are they pigmies of
only 30 inches in height; they think, speak and act, like other men,
and their stature is exactly the same.
Discarding, therefore, this ill-described being, and supposing a
little exaggeration in Bontius's relation concerning the modesty of
his female orang-outang, there only remains a brute animal, namely,
an Ape, of which we have information from authors of more credit; and
which is described with the greatest exactness by Edward Tyson, a
celebrated English anatomist. This learned gentleman says, that there
are two species of this ape, and that the one he gives a description
of is not so large as the other called _barris_, or _baris_, by
travellers, and _drill_ by the English. This _drill_ is, in fact,
the large orang-outang of the East-Indies, or the pongo of Guinea;
and the pigmy described by Tyson is the jocko, which we have seen
alive. The philosopher Gassendi having advanced, on the authority of
a traveller, named St. Amand, that in the island of Java there was a
creature which formed the shade between man and the ape, the fact was
positively denied. To prove it, Peiresse produced a letter from M.
Noël, a physician, who lived in Africa, in which it is asserted, that
there is found in Guinea a large ape, called _barris_, which walks
erect on its two feet, has an appearance of more gravity and sagacity
than any of the other species, and has a very strong inclination for
women. Darcos, Nieremberg, and Dapper, speak nearly the same of the
barris. Battel calls it pongo, and assures us, "that, excepting his
size, he is exactly like a man in all his proportions; but he is as
tall as a giant; his face is like that of a man, his eyes deep sunk
in the head, and the hair on his brows extremely long; his visage is
without hair, as are also his ears and hands; his body is lightly
covered with hair. He scarcely differs from man, except not having any
calf to his legs; yet he always walks on his hind legs: he sleeps under
trees, and builds himself a shelter against the sun and the rains. He
lives only upon nuts and fruits, and is no way carnivorous: he cannot
speak, and has no more understanding than any other animal of the
brute creation. When the people of the country travel in the woods
they make fires by which they sleep in the night, and being gone, in
the morning this animal comes and sits by it until it goes out, but he
has not skill enough to keep the flame alive by feeding it with fuel.
They go together in companies, and if they happen to meet with one of
the human species, remote from succour, they shew him no mercy. They
even attack the elephants, whom they beat with their clubs, and oblige
them to leave that part of the forest which they claim as their own.
These creatures are never taken alive, for they are so strong that ten
men would not be able to hold one of them. They sometimes destroy the
young ones; the mother carries them, she herself being in an erect
posture, and they cling to her body with their hands and knees. There
are two kinds of this animal, both very much resembling the human race,
the one the natives call pongo, is taller and thicker than a man; and
the other _engeco_, or jocko, whose size is much smaller." It is from
this passage that I derived the names _pongo_ and _jocko_. Battel
further observes, that when one of these animals dies the rest cover
his body with leaves and branches of trees. Purchas adds, in a note,
that in the conversations he had with Battel he learned that a negro
boy was taken from him by a pongo, and carried into the woods, where
he continued a whole year, and that on his return he said, that they
never attempted to do him any injury; that they were generally about
the height of the human race, but much larger, and nearly double the
bulk of a man. Jobson asserts to have seen, in places frequented by
these animals, a sort of habitation composed of interwoven branches,
which might serve them at least as a shelter from the heat of the sun.
"The apes of Guinea, says Bosman, which are called _smitten_ by the
Flemings, are of a yellow colour, and grow to a very large size. I have
seen some above five feet high. These apes are of a very disagreeable
appearance, as well as those of another species, which resemble them in
every particular except in size, not being one fourth part so big. They
are very easily taught to do almost whatever their masters please."
Schouten says, "That the animals which the Indians call orang-outangs
are nearly of the same height and figure as man, but that their back
and loins are covered with hair, although they have none on the fore
part of their bodies; that the females have two large breasts, that
their face is coarse, their nose flat, and their ears like those of
men; that they are robust, active, bold, and defend themselves against
armed men; that they are passionately fond of women, who cannot
pass through the woods which they inhabit, without these animals
immediately attacking and ravishing them." Dampier, Froger, and other
travellers, assert, that young girls, about eight or ten years old, are
taken away by these animals, and carried to the tops of high trees,
and that it is a very great difficulty to rescue them. To all these
testimonies we may add that of M. de la Brosse, mentioned in his voyage
to Angola, in 1738, wherein he says that the orang-outangs (which he
calls _quimpezés_) often attempt to surprise the Negresses, whom, when
they succeed, they detain for the purpose of enjoying, feeding them
very plentifully all the time. "I knew (says he) a Negress at Loango
who had lived among these animals for three years. They grow from six
to seven feet high, and are of great strength. They build sheds, and
make use of clubs for their defence. They have flat faces, broad flat
noses, ears without a tip, and their skins are fairer than that of a
mulatto, but they are covered on many parts of their bodies with long
and tawny-coloured hair: their bellies are extremely tense, their heels
flat, rising behind about half an inch: they sometimes walk upright,
and sometimes upon all fours. We purchased two of these animals, a male
of about fourteen months old, and a female about twelve, &c."
Thus we have given the most precise and perfect account we could
collect of the great _orang-outang_, or _pongo_; and as magnitude is
the only striking character in which it differs from the jocko, I
must persist in my belief that they are of the same species; for two
things are at least possible. 1. That the jocko may be a constant
variety; that is, a much smaller race than that of the pongo; in fact,
they are both of the same climate, they live in the same manner,
and consequently ought to resemble each other perfectly, since they
equally receive, and are subject to the same influences of earth and
sky. Have we not an example of a like variety in the human species?
The Laplander and Finlander, though living under the same climate,
yet differ almost as much in size, and much more in other attributes,
as the jocko differs from the great orang-outang. 2. The jocko, or
small orang-outang, which we have seen alive, as well as those of
Tulpius, Tyson, and others which have been transported into Europe,
were, perhaps, only young animals which had not attained the whole of
their growth. That which I saw was about two feet and a half high, and
the Sieur Nonfouix, to whom it belonged, assured me that it was not
above two years old; therefore, it possibly might have attained to
the height of five feet if it had lived, supposing its growth to be
proportionate to that of the human species. The orang-outang described
by Tyson, was still younger, as it was not above two feet high, and
its teeth were not entirely formed. Those of Tulpius and Edwards were
nearly of the same size as that which I saw, therefore it is very
probable that these animals, had they been at liberty in their own
climate, would have acquired the same height and dimensions which
travellers ascribe to the great orang-outang. From these circumstances
we shall consider these two animals as belonging to one species, till a
more precise knowledge of them shall be obtained.
The orang-outang which I saw walked always upright, even when carrying
heavy burthens. His air was melancholy, his deportment grave, his
movements regular, his disposition gentle, and very different from that
of other apes. Unlike the baboon, or the monkey, whose motions are
violent, and appetites capricious, who are fond of mischief, and only
obedient through fear, a look kept him in awe. It may be urged that he
had the benefit of instruction; but equally so had those with whom I
mean to compare him, and yet neither the baboon, nor other apes, could
be brought to obey without blows, while a word was enough for him. I
have seen this animal give his hand to shew the company to the door
that came to see him, and walk about as gravely with them, as if he
formed one of the company. I have seen him sit down at table, unfold
his napkin, wipe his lips, make use of a spoon or a fork to carry the
victuals to his mouth, pour out its drink into a glass, and touch
glasses with the person who drank with him; when invited to take tea,
he would bring a cup and saucer, lay them on the table, put in sugar,
pour out the tea, and leave it to cool before he drank it. All this I
have seen him perform without any other instigation than the signs,
or the commands of his master, and often of his own accord. He was
gentle and inoffensive; he even approached strangers with respect, and
appeared rather to solicit caresses than inclined to offer injuries. He
was singularly fond of sweetmeats, which every body was ready to give
him; and as he had a defluxion upon the breast, together with a cough,
so much sugar contributed, no doubt, to shorten his life. He continued
at Paris one summer, and died in London the following winter. He
would eat almost every thing that was offered, but preferred dry and
ripe fruits to all other aliments. He would drink wine, but in small
quantities, and willingly left it for milk, tea, or any other sweet,
or mild liquor. Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, had one of these
animals presented to him, the figure and description of which is given
by Tulpius, and who relates nearly the same circumstances respecting
him as we have done. But if we would know what peculiar instincts
belong to this animal, and distinguish him from the improvements he
had received from his master; we must compare those facts which we
have witnessed, with the relations which travellers have given who
have seen this animal in a state of nature, and in captivity. M. de
la Brosse, who bought two orang-outangs from a negro, and which were
but a year old, does not mention their having been educated; on the
contrary, he asserts, that they performed many of the above actions
by natural instinct. "These animals, says he, sat at table like men,
they eat every sort of food without distinction, made use of a knife,
a fork, or a spoon, to eat their meat and help themselves; they drank
wine and other liquors. We carried them on ship board, and when they
were at table, they made signs to the cabin-boy expressive of their
wants; and whenever the boy neglected or refused to give them what they
wanted, they became in a passion, seized him by the arm, bit and then
threw him down. The male was sea-sick, and required attendance like a
human creature: he was even twice bled in the right arm; and every time
afterwards, when he found himself indisposed, he held out his arm, as
if conscious of having been relieved by that operation."
Henry Grose relates, "that these animals are to be met with to the
north of Coromandel; that Mr. Horne, governor of Bombay, had two of
them, a male and a female, sent him from a merchant of the name of
Vancajee, who lived upon the sea-coast in that country, by Captain
Boag, the master of a trading vessel; who, as well as some of his
people, gave the following description of them: they were scarcely two
feet high, but their form was entirely like the human: they walked
erect upon their two feet, and were of a sallow white, without any
hairs on any other part than those on which mankind generally have
them. Many of their actions perfectly resembled the human, and their
melancholy plainly evinced they felt the weight of their captivity.
They made their bed very orderly in the cage in which they were sent
on board the ship. When any person looked at them they hid those parts
which modesty forbids to expose. Whether the sea air affected them, or
they pined at their confinement, or whether the captain did not provide
them proper food, the female first sickened and died, upon which the
male shewed all the real signs of grief, and took the death of his
companion so greatly to heart that he refused his food, and did not
survive her more than two days."
Such was captain Boag's account to Governor Horne, on his return to
Bombay; and upon being asked what he had done with their bodies, said
he had thrown them overboard, not at the time thinking of preserving
them. The governor was so desirous of possessing such a curiosity,
that he sent to Vancajee, requesting him to procure more; to which
Vancajee replied, he was afraid that would not be in his power, as
they were caught upon the skirts of a forest about seventy leagues up
the country, but they were so shy and cunning, that the inhabitants
were scarcely able to take them, it not happening more than once in a
century.
Francis Pyrard relates, "that in the province of Sierra Leona in
Africa, there is a species of apes called _baris_, who are strong
and muscular, and so very industrious, that, if properly fed and
instructed, they serve as very useful domestics: they usually walk
upright, will pound any thing in a mortar, fetch water from the river
in little pitchers, which they carry on their heads; but if the
pitchers be not taken off immediately on their return they let them
fall to the ground; but when they see them broken, they begin to lament
and cry for the loss." Father Jarrie says nearly the same, and almost
in the same words. The testimony of Schouten agrees with Pyrard's, on
the education of these animals. "When taken, he says, they are taught
to walk erect on their hind feet, and to make use of those before as
hands, for certain works, as rinsing glasses, carrying the beer, and
waiting at table, turning the spits, and other domestic business."
"I saw at Java (says Guat) a very extraordinary female ape; she was
very large, and often walked erect on her hind feet, at which time
she hid with her hands the parts which distinguish the sex. She had
no hair on her face, except the eyebrows, and her face much resembled
those grotesque ones of the Hottentot women which I have seen at the
Cape. She made her bed every day with great neatness, slept with her
head on a pillow, and covered herself with a quilt. When she had the
head-ache, she would bind it round with a handkerchief, and it was
amusing to see her thus dressed in bed. I could relate a number of
other little circumstances which appeared extremely singular, but I
own I did not admire them so much as most people; because I was aware
of the design of bringing her to Europe to gratify curiosity, and was
therefore inclined to suspect that she had been taught a number of
these tricks, which the populace looked upon as natural to the animal.
She died in our vessel about the latitude of the Cape. This ape greatly
resembled the human species in figure, &c."
Gemelli Careri speaks of one he saw which cried like a child, walked
erect on its hind-feet, and carried a mat under its arm, on which it
laid down to sleep. "These apes (he adds) seem in some respects to be
more sagacious than men; for when they no longer find fruits on the
mountains, they descend to the seashore, where they catch and feed on
crabs, oysters, and other shell-fish. There is a species of oyster,
called _taclovo_, which weighs several pounds, and often lies upon the
shores with its shell somewhat open; but this animal being sufficiently
sagacious to suspect they may close upon him, if he uses his paws,
first puts a stone between the shells, and then eats the oyster at his
pleasure."
"On the coasts of the river Gambia (says Froger) there are apes larger
and more mischievous than in any other part of Africa: the negroes
are afraid of them, and they cannot travel alone where they frequent,
without running a risk of being attacked by these animals, who make
use of huge clubs. The Portuguese say that they frequently take away
young girls of seven or eight years of age, and carry them up to the
highest trees. Most of the negroes regard these animals as foreigners
who are come to establish themselves in their country, and that their
not speaking arises from a fear of being obliged to work." Another
traveller remarks, that at Macacar there are apes which walk upon their
hind-feet like the human species, that they go in numbers, and that an
encounter with them often proves fatal.
Thus we have nearly given every particular circumstance concerning
this animal which has been related by travellers who may be the most
depended upon. I have given their accounts entire, because every
passage is important in the history of a brute which has so great
a resemblance to man; and in order to determine its nature with
the greater certainty, we shall now mention those differences and
conformities which divide him from or give him an approximation to the
human species. The first external difference is the flatness of the
nose, the shortness of the forehead, and the defect of prominence in
the chin. The ears are proportionally too large, the eyes too close to
each other, and the interval between the nose and the mouth too great:
these are the only differences between the face of the orang-outangs
and that of man. With regard to the body and limbs, the thighs are
proportionally too short, the arms too long; the fingers too small, the
palms of the hands too narrow, and the feet rather resemble the hands
than the human feet. The parts of generation differ only from those of
man, by their having no frænum to the prepuce; but in the females the
organs externally are nearly like those of women.
Internally this animal differs from man in the number of its ribs;
having thirteen, whereas man has only twelve. The vertebræ of the
neck are also shorter, the bones of the pelvis narrower, the haunches
more flat, and the orbits of the eyes sunk deeper. There is no spiny
apophysis to the first vertebræ of the neck; the kidnies are rounder
than in the human species, and the ureters have a different figure,
as well as the bladder and gall-bladder, which are much longer and
narrower. In almost every other part, as well externally as internally,
there is so perfect a resemblance to those of the human species, that
we cannot compare them without expressing our wonder and admiration,
that from such a similar conformation and organization the same effects
are not produced. For example, the tongue, and all the organs of the
voice, are exactly the same as in man, and yet this animal does not
speak; the brain is absolutely of the same form and proportion, and yet
it does not think. Can there be a more convincing proof, that matter
alone, however perfectly organized, cannot produce either speech or
thought, unless animated by a superior principle? or, in other words,
by a soul to direct its operations? Man, and the orang-outang, are
the only animals which have calfs to their legs, and their posteriors
formed for walking erect. They likewise are the only ones which
have a broad chest, flat shoulders, and the vertebræ conformable to
each other; and the only animals whose brain, heart, lungs, liver,
spleen, stomach, and intestines, are perfectly alike, and who have
a vermicular appendix. In short, the orang-outang has a greater
resemblance to man than even to baboons or monkeys, not only by all the
parts which I have indicated, but also by the largeness of the visage,
the form of the cranium, the jaws, teeth, and other bones of the head
and face; by the thickness of the fingers and thumb; by the shape of
the nails; by the articulations of the joints, sternum, &c. So that
since we find, by comparing this animal with those which resemble it
most, such as the magot, baboon, or monkey, it has a greater conformity
with the human than the animal species, which have all been mentioned
under the general name of apes, the Indians are excusable for having
associated it with man by the name of _orang-outang_, or the _wild
man of the woods_. As some of the facts we have mentioned may appear
suspicious to those who have not seen this animal, we shall support
them by the authority of the two celebrated anatomists Tyson[M] and
Cowper, who dissected it with a most scrupulous nicety, and have given
the results of the comparisons they made of all its parts with the
human species. I shall only observe, that the English are not confined,
like the French, to one single word to denote animals of this kind:
they have, like the Greeks, two different denominations, one for those
without tails, which they call apes, and the other for those with
tails, which they term monkeys. Those which Tyson speaks of by the word
_apes_ must be the same animals as we have called pithecos, or pigmy,
and the cynocephalus, or Barbary ape. I must also remark, that this
author gives some characters of resemblance and difference which have
not a sufficient foundation. I have therefore thought it necessary
to make some observations on those particulars, as we cannot too
minutely examine a creature, which, though it has the form of a man,
nevertheless belongs to the brute species.
[Footnote M: The orang-outang bears a greater resemblance to man
than to the apes or monkeys; because, 1. The hairs on his shoulders
are directed downwards, and those on the arm upwards. 2. His face is
broader and flatter than that of the apes. 3. The form of his ears
resembles that of man, excepting the cartilaginous part being thin,
like the apes. 4. His fingers are much thicker in proportion than the
apes. 5. He is, in every particular, formed for walking erect, which
apes are not. 6. His posteriors are thicker than those of apes. 7.
He has calfs to his legs. 8. His breast and shoulders are broader
than those of any ape. 9. His heels are longer. 10. He has a cellular
membrane, like man, under the skin. 11. His peritonæum is entire.
12. His intestines are longer than those of apes. 13. The intestinal
canal is of different diameters, as in man, and not nearly equal, as
in apes. 14. His cæcum has a vermicular appendix, which is not the
case in any other ape, nor is the neck of the colon so long as in the
latter. 15. The insertions of the biliary and pancreatic ducts have but
one common orifice in the orang-outang as well as in man, but in all
apes and monkeys they are two inches asunder. 16. The colon is longer
than that of the apes. 17. The liver is not divided into lobes as in
the apes, but entire, like that of man. 18. The biliary vessels are
also the same: as are, 19. The spleen. 20. The pancreas; and 21. The
number of lobes in the lungs. 22. The pericardium is attached to the
diaphragm, as in man. 23. The cone of the heart is more blunt than in
apes. 24. He has no pouches at the bottom of the cheeks, as other apes
have. 25. His brain is larger than that of apes, and formed exactly
like the human brain. 26. The cranium is rounder, and double the size
of that of monkeys. 27. All the sutures of the cranium are similar to
those of man, which is not the case in other apes or monkeys. 28. He
has the _os cribriforme_ and the _crista galli_, which the monkeys
have not. 29. He has the _sella equina_ exactly the same as in man,
while the apes and monkeys have it more prominent. 30. They have the
_processus pteregoides_ like man, while the others have not. 31. The
temporal bones, and the _ossa bregmatis_ are the same as in man, but in
apes and monkeys these bones are of a different form. 32. The latter
have the _os zygomaticus_ large, whereas it is small in this animal.
33. The teeth, particularly the grinders, are more like man's than
those of the ape or monkey, as also are, 34. The transverse apophyses
of the vertebræ of the neck, and the sixth and seventh vertebræ. 35.
The vertebræ of the neck are not perforated as in apes, but entire
as in man. 36. The vertebræ of the back and their apophyses, are the
same as in man; and in the lower vertebræ, there are only two inferior
apophyses, but in the apes there are four. 37. As in man there are
only five lumber vertebræ, but in monkeys there are six or seven. 38.
The spinal apophyses of the lumber vertebræ are straight as in man.
39. The _os sacrum_ is composed of five vertebræ, as in man, but in
apes or monkeys of only three. 40. As in man, the _coccix_ is composed
of four bones, and not perforated, whereas in apes, it is composed of
a greater number of bones, all of which are perforated. 41. In the
orang-outang, there are only seven true ribs, and the extremities of
the false ribs are all cartilaginous and articulated with the vertebræ;
but in apes and monkeys, there are eight true ribs, and the extremities
of the false ribs are osseous, and their articulations are placed in
the intestines between the vertebræ. 42. His iternum is broad like
that of man, but which is narrow in monkeys. 43. The bones of the four
fingers are thicker than those of apes. 44. The thigh bone is like that
of man. 45. The rotula is round, long, and single, but double in the
apes. 46. The heel _tarsus_ and _metatarsus_ are like those of man. 47.
The middle toe is not so long as that of the apes. 48. The _obliquus
inferior capitis_, _pyriformis_, and _biceps femoris_ muscles, are like
those of man, but which are different in the apes or monkeys.
The orang-outang _differs_ from the human species more than from apes
and monkey: 1. The thumb is proportionally smaller than that of man,
but larger than that of the apes. 2. The palm of the hand is longer
and narrower. 3. The toes approach those of the ape, by their length.
4. As he does by having the large toe of the foot placed at an inch
distance from the next one, and which makes him rather be considered
as a four-handed animal than a quadruped. 5. His thighs are shorter
than those of man; and 6. His arms are longer. 7. The testicles are not
pendulous. 8. The epiloon is larger. 9. The gall-bladder is longer.
10. The kidneys are rounder, and the ureters are also different from
man. 11. The bladder is longer. 12. He has no _frænum_ to the prepuce.
13. The bone in the orbit of the eye is sunk deeper. 14. He has not
the two cavities below the _tella turica_. 15. The mastoid and styloid
processes are extremely small. 16. The bones of the nose are flat.
17. The vertebræ of the neck are short, flat before, and their spinal
apophyses are not forked. 18. He has no spinal apophyses in the first
vertebræ of the neck. 19. He has thirteen ribs on each side. 20. The
_ossa ilia_ are longer, narrower, and less concave than in man. 21.
He also wants the following muscles, which are found in man: the
_occipitales_, _frontales_, _dilitatories alarum nasi seu elevotores
labij superioris_, _interspinales calli glutæi minimi extensor
digitorum pedis brevis et transversalis pedis_. 22. The following
muscles are sometimes found in man, but not in the orang-outang,
the _pyramidales_, _caro musculosa quadrata_, the long tendon and
the fleshy body of the _palmaris_, the _attolens_, and _retrobans
oriculam_. 23. The _elevator_ muscles of the claricles of the
orang-outang are like those of the ape, and different from man; as are
also 24. The muscles called, _longus colli_, _pectoralis_, _latissimus
dorsi_, _glutæus maximus et medius_, _psoas magnus et parvus_,
_iliacus_, _internus_, _et gasteronamius internus_. And 25. He differs
from man in the figure of the _deltoides_, _pronator_, _radi teres_,
_et extensor pollicis brevii_.--Tyson's Anat. of the Orang-Outang.]
1. Tyson gives, as a particular character of man and the orang-outang,
the having the hair on their shoulders inclined downward, and that
on the arms upwards. It is true that most quadrupeds have their
hair directed downwards, or backwards, but this is not without some
exceptions. The sloth and the smallest species of ant-eater have the
hair on their anterior parts inclined backward, and that on the crupper
and loins directed forwards; therefore this character carries no great
weight in comparing the orang-outang with man.
2. The four first differences also in the passage I have quoted are
very slight, or ill-founded. The first is the difference of size,
which character is very uncertain, especially as the author himself
observes that his animal was very young. The second, third, and fourth,
are drawn from the form of the nose, the quantity of hair, and other
trivial circumstances. It is the same with many others, which may be
retrenched; for example, the twenty-first character is drawn from
the number of the teeth. It is certain that both this animal and man
have the like number of teeth, and if the one in question had only
twenty-eight, it ought to be attributed to its youth, for we know that
the human race have not more in the early part of their days.
3. The seventh difference is likewise very equivocal; the scrotum of
children is in general very tight, and this animal being young ought
not to have had them pendulous.
4. The forty-eighth character of resemblance, and the twenty-first,
twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth marks of
difference, only denote the presence or shape of certain muscles, which
as they vary in most individuals of the human species, ought not to be
considered as essential characters.
5. Every difference and resemblance drawn from parts too minute, such
as the apophyses of the vertebræ, or that are taken from the position
and magnitude of certain parts, should be considered only as accessory
characters; so that Tyson's whole anatomical table may be reduced
to the essential differences and resemblances which we have already
mentioned.
6. I have thought it necessary to point out other more general
characters of this animal, some of which have been omitted by Tyson,
and others but badly indicated. First, The orang-outang is the only one
of all the apes that has no pouches within his cheeks on each side of
the jaw, in which to put the provisions before they swallow them, for
the inside of his mouth is perfectly like that of man. Secondly, the
gibbon, the Barbary ape, and all the baboon and monkey kind, except
the douc, have their posteriors flat, with callosities on them. The
orang-outang is the only one which has those parts plump, and without
callosities. The douc also has no callosities, but then his posteriors
are flat and covered with hair, so that in this respect the douc forms
the shade between the orang-outang and the monkeys; as the gibbon and
magot form the same knot with respect to the pouches on each side of
the jaw. Thirdly, the orang-outang is the only animal who has the
calfs of the legs, and fleshy posteriors. This character shews that it
is formed much better than any other animal to walk upright; but as
its toes are very long, and its heels higher situated than in man, it
runs with greater ease than it walks, and there would be occasion for
artificial heels higher than those of our shoes to enable it to walk
easily for a long time together. Fourthly, though the orang-outang
has thirteen ribs, and man only twelve, this difference does not
approximate it nearer to the baboon or monkey than it removes it from
man, because the number of ribs varies in most of those species, some
of them having twelve, others eleven, ten, and so on. So that the only
differences between the body of this animal and that of man are reduced
to two, viz. the figure of the bones of the pelvis, and the formation
of the feet; these, therefore, are the only considerable parts by which
the orang-outang bears a greater resemblance to the other apes than it
does to the human species.
From this examination, which I have made with all the exactness I am
capable of, we may form a tolerably correct judgment of this animal.
If there were a step by which we could descend from human nature
to that of the brutes, and if the essence of this nature consisted
entirely in the form of the body, and depended on its organization,
the orang-outang would approach nearer to man than to any other
animal. Seated in the second rank of beings, if it could not command
in the first, it would at least make others feel its superiority. If
the principle of imitation, by which he seems so closely to copy the
actions of man, were a result of thought or reason, this ape would be
at a still greater distance from the brute species, and nearer the
human; but, as we have observed, the interval which separates them is
not trifling, and the resemblance in form, conformity of organization,
and motions of imitation, which seem to result from those similitudes,
neither bring it nearer the nature of man, nor raise it above that of
the brutes.
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The orang-outang has no pouches on the sides of the jaws, no tail, nor
any callosities on the posteriors, which last are plump and fleshy:
all his teeth are similar to those of man: his face is flat, naked, and
of a swarthy colour; his hands, feet, ears, breast, and belly, are also
naked: the hair on the head descends on the sides of the temples like
tresses; on his back and loins there is but a very small quantity of
hair[N]: he is about five or six feet high, and always walks erect on
his two hind feet. We have not been able to verify whether the females
are subject to periodical courses like women: analogy will scarcely
suffer a doubt to arise to the contrary.
[Footnote N: According to Pennant this hair is of a reddish colour, and
shaggy.]