enough be accounted by what I have said. But it may be objected that the
_Orang-Outang_, or these _wild_ or _savage Men_ are not [Greek: pygmaioi],
or _Trispithami_, that is, but two Foot and a quarter high, because by
some Relations that have been given, it appears they have been observed to
be of a higher stature, and as tall as ordinary Men. Now tho' this may be
allowed as to these _wild Men_ that are bred in other places; and probably
enough like wise, there are such in some Parts of the Continent of
_Africa_; yet 'tis sufficient to our business if there are any there, that
will come within our Dimensions; for our Scene lies in _Africa_; where
_Strabo_ observes, that generally the Beasts are of a less size than
ordinary; and this he thinks might give rise to the Story of the
_Pygmies_. For, saith he[A] [Greek: Ta de boskaemata autois esti mikra,
probata kai aiges, kai kynes mikroi, tracheis de kai machimoi (oikountes
mikroi ontes) tacha de kai tous pygmaious apo tes touton mikrophyias
epenoaesan, kai aneplasan.] i.e. _That their Beasts are small, as their
Sheep, Goats and Oxen, and their Dogs are small, but hairy and fierce: and
it may be_ (saith he) _from the [Greek: mikrophyia] or littleness of the
stature of these Animals, they have invented and imposed on us the_
Pygmies. And then adds, _That no body fit to be believed ever saw them_;
because he fancied, as a great many others have done, that these _Pygmies_
must be _real Men_, and not a sort of _Brutes_. Now since the other
_Brutes_ in this Country are generally of a less size than in other Parts,
why may not this sort of _Ape_, the _Orang-Outang_, or _wild Man_, be so
likewise. _Aristotle_ speaking of the _Pygmies_, saith, [Greek: genos
mikron men kai autoi, kai oi hippoi.] _That both they and the Horses there
are but small_. He does not say _their_ Horses, for they were never
mounted upon _Horses_, but only upon _Partridges, Goats_ and _Rams_. And
as the _Horses_, and other _Beasts_ are naturally less in _Africa_ than in
other Parts, so likewise may the _Orang-Outang_ be. This that I dissected,
which was brought from _Angola_ (as I have often mentioned) wanted
something of the just stature of the _Pygmies_; but it was young, and I am
therefore uncertain to what tallness it might grow, when at full Age: And
neither _Tulpius_, nor _Gassendus_, nor any that I have hitherto met with,
have adjusted the full stature of this _Animal_ that is found in those
parts from whence ours was brought: But 'tis most certain, that there are
sorts of _Apes_ that are much less than the _Pygmies_ are described to be.
And, as other _Brutes_, so the _Ape-kind_, in different Climates, may be
of different Dimensions; and because the other _Brutes_ here are generally
small, why may not _they_ be so likewise. Or if the difference should be
but little, I see no great reason in this case, why we should be
over-nice, or scrupulous.
[Footnote A: _Strabo Geograph_. lib. 17. p.m. 565.]
As to our _Ape Pygmies_ or _Orang-Outang_ fighting the _Cranes_, this, I
think, may be easily enough made out, by what I have already observed; for
this _wild Man_ I dissected was Carnivorous, and it may be Omnivorous, at
least as much as _Man_ is; for it would eat any thing that was brought to
the Table. And if it was not their Hunger that drove them to it, their
Wantonness, it may be, would make them apt enough to rob the _Cranes_
Nests; and if they did so, no doubt but the _Cranes_ would noise enough
about it, and endeavour what they could to beat them off, which a Poet
might easily make a Fight: Tho' _Homer_ only makes use of it as a
_Simile_, in comparing the great Shouts of the _Trojans_ to the Noise of
the _Cranes_, and the Silence of the _Greeks_ to that of the _Pygmies_
when they are going to Engage, which is natural enough, and very just, and
contains nothing, but what may easily be believed; tho' upon this account
he is commonly exposed, and derided, as the Inventor of this Fable; and
that there was nothing of Truth in it, but that 'twas wholly a Fiction of
his own.
Those _Pygmies_ that _Paulus Jovius_[A] describes, tho' they dwell at a
great distance from _Africa_, and he calls them _Men_, yet are so like
_Apes_, that I cannot think them any thing else. I will give you his own
words: _Ultra Lapones_ (saith he) _in Regione inter Corum & Aquilonem
perpetua oppressa Caligine_ Pygmæos _reperiri, aliqui eximiæ fidei testes
retulerunt; qui postquam ad summum adoleverint, nostratis Pueri denum
annorum Mensuram vix excedunt. Meticulosum genus hominum, & garritu
Sermonem exprimens, adeo ut tam Simiæ propinqui, quam Statura ac sensibus
ab justæ Proceritatis homine remoti videantur_. Now there is this
Advantage in our _Hypothesis_, it will take in all the _Pygmies_, in any
part of the World; or wherever they are to be met with, without supposing,
as some have done, that 'twas the _Cranes_ that forced them to quit their
Quarters; and upon this account several Authors have described them in
different places: For unless we suppose the _Cranes_ so kind to them, as
to waft them over, how came we to find them often in Islands? But this is
more than can be reasonably expected from so great Enemies.
[Footnote A: _Paul. Jovij de Legatione Muschovitar_. lib. p.m. 489.]
I shall conclude by observing to you, that this having been the Common
Error of the Age, in believing the _Pygmies_ to be a sort of _little Men_,
and it having been handed down from so great Antiquity, what might
contribute farther to the confirming of this Mistake, might be, the
Imposture of the Navigators, who failing to Parts where these _Apes_ are,
they have embalmed their Bodies, and brought them home, and then made the
People believe that they were the _Men_ of those Countries from whence
they came. This _M.P. Venetus_ assures us to have been done; and 'tis not
unlikely: For, saith he,[A] _Abundat quoque Regio ipsa_ (sc. Basman in
Java majori) _diversis Simiis magnis & parvis, hominibus simillimis, hos
capiunt Venatores & totos depilant, nisi quod, in barba & in loco secreto
Pilos relinquunt, & occisos speciebus Aromaticis condiunt, & postea
desiccant, venduntque Negociatoribus, qui per diversas Orbis Partes
Corpora illa deferentes, homines persuadent Tales Homunciones in Maris
Insulis reperiri. Joh. Jonston_[B] relates the same thing, but without
quoting the Author; and as he is very apt to do, commits a great mistake,
in telling us, _pro Homunculis marinis venditant_.
[Footnote A: _M. Pauli Veneti de Regionibus Oriental_. lib. 3. cap. 15. p.
m. 390.]
[Footnote B: _Jo. Jonston. Hist. Nat. de Quadruped_. p.m. 139.]
I shall only add, That the Servile Offices that these Creatures are
observed to perform, might formerly, as it does to this very day, impose
upon Mankind to believe, that they were of the same _Species_ with
themselves; but that only out of Sullenness or cunning, they think they
will not _speak_, for fear of being made Slaves. _Philostratus_[A] tells
us, That the _Indians_ make use of the _Apes_ in gathering the Pepper; and
for this Reason they do defend and preserve them from the _Lions_, who are
very greedy of preying upon them: And altho' he calls them _Apes_, yet he
speaks of them as _Men_, and as if they were the Husbandmen of the _Pepper
Trees_, [Greek: kai ta dendra oi piperides, on georgoi pithekoi]. And he
calls them the People of _Apes_; [Greek: ou legetai pithekon oikein demos
en mychois tou orous]. _Dapper_[B] tells us, _That the Indians take the_
Baris _when young, and make them so tame, that they will do almost the
work of a Slave; for they commonly go erect as Men do. They will beat Rice
in a Mortar, carry Water in a Pitcher_, &c. And Gassendus[C] in the Life
of _Pieresky_, tells us, us, _That they will play upon a Pipe or Cittern,
or the like Musick, they will sweep the House, turn the Spit, beat in a
Mortar, and do other Offices in a Family_. And _Acosta_, as I find him
quoted by _Garcilasso de la Vega_[D] tells us of a _Monkey_ he saw at the
Governour's House at _Cartagena_, 'whom they fent often to the Tavern for
Wine, with Money in one hand, and a Bottle in the other; and that when he
came to the Tavern, he would not deliver his Money, until he had received
his Wine. If the Boys met with him by the way, or made a houting or noise
after him, he would set down his Bottle, and throw Stones at them; and
having cleared the way he would take up his Bottle, and hasten home, And
tho' he loved Wine excessively, yet he would not dare to touch it, unless
his Master gave him License.' A great many Instances of this Nature might
be given that are very surprising. And in another place he tells us, That
the Natives think that they can speak, but will not, for fear of being
made to work. And _Bontius_[E] mentions that the _Javans_ had the same
Opinion concerning the _Orang-Outang_, _Loqui vero eos, easque Javani
aiunt, sed non velle, ne ad labores cogerentur_.
[Footnote A: _Philostratus in vita Apollonij Tyanæi_, lib. 3. cap. I. p.
m. 110, & 111.]
[Footnote B: _Dapper Description de l'Afrique_, p.m. 249.]
[Footnote C: _Gassendus in vita Pierskij_, lib. 5. p.m. 169.]
[Footnote D: _Garcilasso de la Vega Royal Commentaries of Peru_, lib. 8.
cap. 18. p. 1333.]
[Footnote E: _Jac. Bontij Hist. Nat. & Med_. lib. 5. cap. 32. p.m. 85.]
* * * * *
[NOTE.--A few obvious errors in the quotations have been corrected, but
for the most part they stand as in Tyson, who must, therefore, be held
responsible for any inaccuracies which may exist.]