[Footnote P: _Gibbon_ is the name by which Mr. Dupleix sent us this
animal from the East Indies. I thought at first that this was an Indian
word, but in looking over the nomenclature of the monkey tribe, I
found in a note of Dalechamp's upon Pliny, that Strabo has described
the cephus by the word _Keipon_, from which, probably, _Guibon_,
_Gibbon_, is derived. The passage of Pliny, with Dalechamp's note, is
as follows: "Pompeii magni, primum ludi ostenderunt ex Ethiopia, quas
vocant _cephos_[Q] quadem pedes posteriores pedibus humanis & cruribus,
priores manibus fuere similes; hoc animal postea Roma non vidit."]
[Footnote Q: Cephos, _Strabo, lib._ xv. Keipon _vocat esseque tradit
facie satyro similem_. Dal. Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. viii. cap. 19. Nota.
_The_ cebus _of the Greeks, the_ cephos _of Pliny, which is pronounced_
kebus _and_ kephus, _might very possibly take its origin from_ koph,
_or_ kophin, _which is the name of an ape in the Hebrew and Chaldean_.]
The Gibbon (_fig. 196._) always keeps itself erect, even when it walks
on all four feet, its arms being as long as both its body and legs.
We have seen one of these animals alive; it was but young, and not
more than three feet high; we may therefore presume, that it had not
attained its full size, and that when in a free state, it may grow to
four feet. It has no appearance of any tail, and the character which
evidently distinguishes it from all other apes, is the extraordinary
length of its arms. It had a circle of white hair all round the face,
which gave it a very remarkable appearance: its eyes are large but sunk
deep in the head; its face is flat nearly resembling that of a man, and
of a tawny colour, and its ears, though well proportioned, are naked.
This animal, next to the orang-outang and the pithecos, would approach
the nearest to the human form, were it not deformed by the excessive
length of its arms: for man in a state of nature would have a strange
appearance; his hair and beard, if they were neglected, would encircle
his visage not unlike that which surrounds the face of the gibbon.
This ape appeared to be of a gentle and tractable disposition; its
motions were neither too rash, nor too precipitate. It was fed on
bread, fruit, almonds, &c. and calmly received the food that was
presented. It was very averse to cold and wet, and did not live long
after being brought into a foreign climate. It is a native of the East
Indies, and particularly along the coasts of Coromandel, Malacca, and
the islands of Molucca.[R] This animal is not to be met with in the
less southern provinces, and there is every reason to conclude that the
ape found in the kingdom of Ganaura, on the frontiers of China, ought
to be referred to the gibbon, although it is called by some travellers
_fefé_. This species varies both in size and colour, for there are two
in the royal cabinet, one of which, although adult, is much smaller
than the other, and is brown on those parts of the body where the other
is black; but as they perfectly resemble each other in every other
respect, we have not the least doubt that they both belong to the same
species.
[Footnote R: P. le Comte says, that he saw at the Molucca islands, a
species of ape, walking naturally on his two feet, and using his arms
like a man. The face nearly resembled that of a Hottentot, but the body
was covered all over with a sort of grey wool. It was exactly like a
child, and expressed perfectly its wants and its desires. These apes
are of a very mild disposition, and to shew their affection to any
person whom they know, they embrace them and kiss them with singular
transport. One of them which P. le Comte saw was at least four feet
high, and very agile.]
_Distinctive Characters of this Species._
The gibbon has no tail; there are small callosities on his posteriors;
his face is flat, brown, and surrounded with a circle of white hairs;
his canine teeth are larger in proportion than those of man; his ears
are naked; black, and round; his hair is black, brown, or sometimes
grey with age; his arms excessively long; he walks erect, and is about
two feet and a half, or three feet high. The female is subject to a
periodical emanation.