Description of an Ungka ape—His habits—Anecdotes of him—His
death—Dissection.
Objects of natural history are frequently brought in a great variety by
the proas from the different islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Prepared
birds of paradise, and living Loris, pink cockatoos, and occasionally the
magnificent, Crowned or Dampier’s pigeons, as well as Rhinoceros birds,
may be often purchased. An orang-utan was lately brought from Borneo
to Singapore, by a commander of a vessel, who sold it for seventy-five
dollars.
During a visit to Singapore, in 1830, I procured, through the kindness
of E. Boustead, Esq., a male specimen of the Ungka ape, (_Hylobates
syndactyla_.) The animal had been recently brought by a Malay lad, in
a proa, from the Menangkabau country, in the interior of Sumatra. The
Malays at Singapore always called the creature Ungka; but I observe, in
the Linnean Transactions, it is called by Sir Stamford Raffles, Siamang,
and the Ungka is therein described as a different animal; the same as
that under the name of Onko, in the splendid work on the Mammalia, (vols.
v. and vi.) by F. Cuvier. The natives, however, at Singapore denied this
being the Siamang, at the same time stating that the Siamang resembled it
in form, but differed in having the eyebrows and hair around the face of
a white colour.
The _Hylobates syndactyla_ is described and figured also in Dr.
Horsfield’s Zoology of Java, but the engraving does not give a correct
idea of the animal, nor have I as yet seen one that does. Three beautiful
drawings were taken for me, from the specimen I possessed, after its
death, in different positions; and having preserved the skeleton in the
skin, its general appearance was more natural than stuffed specimens
usually are; they were executed by the able pencil of Charles Landseer,
Esq.
On board the ship Sophia, during the passage to England, ample
opportunities were afforded me to study this singularly interesting
little animal. Its measurement was as follows:—From the os calcis to the
vertex of the head, two feet four inches; span of the arms, four feet;
length of the arm, from the axilla to the termination of the fore-finger,
one foot ten and a half inches; length of the leg, from the groin to the
os calcis, eleven inches; length from the xiphoid or ensiform cartilage
to the crest of the pubis, seven and a half inches.
The teeth are twelve in each jaw; four incisors, two canine, and six
molares. In the upper jaw, the canine were placed widely apart from the
last incisor, giving an appearance as if a tooth was deficient: this
circumstance did not occur in the lower jaw. The teeth were in a very
bad condition. In colour, the animal was of a beautiful jet black, being
covered with coarse hair over the whole body. The face has no hair,
except on the sides, as whiskers, and the hair stands forward from the
forehead over the eyes: there is very little beard. The skin of the face
is black; the arms are very long, the radius and ulna being of greater
length than the os humeri: the hair on the arms runs in one direction,
viz. downwards; that on the fore-arm, upwards; the hands are long and
narrow, fingers long and tapering; thumb short, not reaching farther
than the first joint of the fore-finger; the palms of the hands and
soles of the feet are bare and black; the legs are short, in proportion
to the arms and body; the feet are long, prehensile, and, when the
animal is in a sitting posture, are turned inwards, and the toes are
usually bent. The first and second toes are united (except at the last
joint) by a membrane. From this circumstance, the animal has derived
its specific name. He invariably walks in the erect posture, when on a
level surface; and then the arms either hang down, enabling him sometimes
to assist himself with his knuckles; or, what is more usual, he keeps
his arms uplifted, in nearly an erect position, with the hands pendent,
ready to seize a rope, and climb up on the approach of danger, or on the
obtrusion of strangers. He walks rather quick in the erect posture, but
with a waddling gait, and is soon run down if, whilst pursued, he has no
opportunity of escaping by climbing.
On the foot are five toes, the great toe being placed like the thumb of
the hand: the form of the foot is somewhat similar to that of the hand,
having an equal prehensile power; the great toe has a capability of
much extension outwards, which enlarges the surface of the foot when
the animal walks. The toes are short; the great toe is the longest. The
eyes are close together, with the irides of a hazel colour; the upper
eyelids have lashes, the lower have none. The nose is confluent with the
face, except at the nostrils, which are a little elevated. The mouth
large, ears small, resembling the human, except in being deficient in
the pendent lobe. He has nails on the fingers and toes, and has hard
tubercles on the tuberosities of the ischium, but is destitute of a tail
or even the rudiment of one.
His food is various: he preferred vegetable diet, as rice, plantains,
&c., and was ravenously fond of carrots, of which we had some quantity
preserved on board. Although, when at dinner, he would behave well, not
intruding his paw into our plates, having “acquired politeness,” as Jack
would say, by being on board, yet, when the carrots appeared, all his
decorum was lost, in his eager desire for them; and it required some
exertion to keep him from attacking them “with tooth and paw,” unmindful
whether we wished it or not, and against all the laws and regulations of
the table. A piece of carrot would draw him from one end of the table to
the other, over which he would walk, without disturbing a single article,
although the ship was rolling at the time; so admirably can these animals
balance themselves. This is well seen when they play about the rigging
of a ship at sea: often, when springing from rope to rope, have I
expected to see him buffeting the waves, and as often did I find that all
my fears were groundless.
He would drink tea, coffee, or chocolate, but neither wine nor spirits.
Of animal food, he prefers fowl; but a lizard having been caught on
board, it was placed before him, when he seized the reptile instantly in
his paw, and greedily devoured it. He was also very fond of sweetmeats,
such as jams, jellies, dates, &c.; and no child with the “sweetest
tooth” ever evinced more delight after “bons bons” than did this little
creature. Some manilla sweet cakes that were on board he was always eager
to procure, and would not unfrequently enter the cabin in which they were
kept, and endeavour to lift up the cover of the jar: he was not less
fond of onions, although their acridity caused him to sneeze and loll
out his tongue: when he took one, he used to put it into his mouth, and
immediately eat it with great rapidity.
The first instance I observed of his attachment to liberty, was soon
after he had been presented to me by Mr. Boustead. On entering the
yard in which he was tied up, one morning, I was not well pleased at
observing him busily engaged in removing his belt, to which the cord or
chain was fixed, (which, as I afterwards understood, had been loosened
on purpose,) at the same time whining, and uttering a peculiar squeaking
noise. As soon as he had succeeded in procuring his liberty, he walked,
in his usual erect posture, towards some Malays, who were standing near
the place; and, after hugging the legs of several of the party, without,
however, permitting them to take him in their arms, he went to a Malay
lad, who seemed to be the object of his search; for, on meeting with him,
he immediately climbed into his arms; and hugged him closely, having an
expression, in both the look and manner, of gratification at being once
again in the arms of him, who I now understood was his former master.
When this lad sold the animal to Mr. Boustead, he was tied up in the
courtyard of that gentleman’s house, and his screams to get loose used
to be a great annoyance to residents in the vicinity. Several times he
effected his escape, and would then make for the water-side, the Malay
lad being usually on board the proa, in which he had arrived from the
Sumatra. He was never re-taken until, having reached the water, he could
proceed no farther. The day previous to sailing, I sent him on board. As
the lad that originally brought him could not be found, a Malay servant
to Mr. Boustead was deputed to take charge of him. The animal was a
little troublesome at first, but afterwards became quiet in the boat.
On arriving on board, he soon managed to make his escape, rewarding his
conductor with a bite, as a parting remembrance, and ascended the rigging
with such agility as to excite the astonishment and admiration of the
crew. As the evening approached, the animal came down on the deck, and
was readily secured. We found, however, in a day or two, that he was so
docile when at liberty, and so very much irritated at being confined,
that he was permitted to range about the deck or rigging. We sailed from
Singapore for England with him, on the 18th of November 1830.
He usually, (on first coming on board,) after taking exercise about
the rigging, retired to rest at sunset, on the maintop, coming on deck
regularly at daylight. This continued until our arrival off the Cape,
when experiencing a lower temperature, he expressed an eager desire to
be taken to my arms, and to be permitted to pass the night in my cabin,
for which he evinced such a decided partiality, that, on the return of
warm weather, he would not retire to the maintop, but seemed to have a
determination to stay where he thought himself the most comfortable, and
which I, at last, after much crying and solicitation from him, permitted.
He was not able to take up small objects with facility, on account of the
disproportion of the size of the thumb to the fingers. The metacarpal
bone of the thumb has the mobility of a first joint. The form of both the
feet and hands gives a great prehensile power, fitted for the woods or
forests, the natural _habitat_ of these animals, where it must be almost
an impossibility to capture an adult of the species alive.
Under the throat is a large black pouch, a continuation of the common
integument, very thinly covered with hair, and not very visible when
undistended. It has a corrugated appearance, extending from the under
part of the chin to the throat, is attached as low down as the upper
part of the sternum, and it is also attached above to the symphysis
of the lower jaw. The use of this pouch has been a subject of much
speculation: having the animal for some time with me, sleeping in the
same apartment, I might be able to form some opinion on the subject. Its
use is certainly not well known, though it is not improbable that it
may be an appendage to the organ of voice. For often when irritated, I
have observed him inflate the pouch, uttering at the same time a hollow
barking noise,[53] for the production of which the rushing of the air
into the sac was evidently an adjunct. The inflation of the pouch was
not, however, confined to anger; for when pleased he would purse the
mouth, drive the air with an audible noise into the sac; when yawning, it
was also inflated; and in all instances, (except when excited by anger,)
he would gradually empty the sac, as if he derived a pleasure from it.
When the sac has been distended, I have often pressed on it, and forced
the air contained within it into the mouth, the animal not evincing at
the time any sign of its being an annoyance to him. When uttering the
barking noise, the pouch is not inflated to the same extent as when he
yawns. It has been stated in an American publication, that the use of
the air sac is for a swimming bladder. It may be said in refutation, (if
the assertion is not too absurd to refute,) that Ungka never evinced any
partiality for swimming, although provided with such an apparatus; but
one day, thinking that a washing would be beneficial to the beast’s
coat, I placed him in a large tub of water: he was much frightened at
his situation, and soon began to display a marked hydrophobic symptom,
but not the least attempt was made to inflate the pouch, although he was
frequently submersed. This animal is destitute of cheek pouches as a
reservoir for food.
When sleeping, he lies along, either on the side or back, resting the
head on the hands, and is always desirous of retiring to rest at sunset;
it was at this time he would approach me uncalled for, making a peculiar
begging, chirping noise; an indication that he wished to be taken into
the cabin to be put to bed. Before I admitted him into my cabin, after
having firmly stood against his piteous beseeching tones and cries, he
would go up the rigging and take up his reposing place for the night
in the maintop. He would often (I suppose from his approximation to
civilization) indulge in bed some time after sunrise, and frequently
when I awoke I have seen him lying on his back, his long arms stretched
out, and, with eyes open, appearing as if buried in deep reflection.
At sunset, when he was desirous of retiring to rest, he would approach
his friends, uttering his peculiar chirping note, a beseeching sound,
begging to be taken into their arms; his request once acceded to, he was
as adhesive as Sinbad’s old man of the sea; any attempt to remove him
being followed by violent screams. He could not endure disappointment,
and, like the human species, was always better pleased when he had his
own way; when refused or disappointed at anything, he would display the
freaks of temper of a spoiled child; lie on the deck, roll about, throw
his arms and legs in various attitudes and directions, dash every thing
aside that might be within his reach, walk hurriedly, repeat the same
scene over and over again, and utter the guttural notes of _ra, ra_; the
employment of coercive measures during the paroxysms reduced him in a
short period to a system of obedience, and the violence of his temper
by such means became in some degree checked. Often has he reminded me
of that pest to society, a spoiled child, who may justly be defined as
papa’s pride, mamma’s darling, the visitor’s terror, and an annoyance to
all the living animals, men and maid-servants, dogs, cats, &c. in the
house that it might be inhabiting.
When he came, at sunset, to be taken into my arms, and was refused, he
would fall into a paroxysm of rage; but finding that unsuccessful, and
unattended to, he would mount the rigging, and hanging over that part
of the deck on which I was walking, would suddenly drop himself into my
arms.[54]
The sounds he uttered were various: when pleased at a recognition of
his friends, he would utter a peculiar squeaking, chirping note; when
irritated, a hollow, barking noise was produced; but when very angry,
and frightened, or when chastised, the loud guttural sounds of _ra, ra,
ra_, invariably followed. When I approached him for the first time in the
morning, he greeted me with his chirping notes, advancing his face at the
same time, as if intended for the purpose of salutation; but I did not
feel desirous of trying the experiment, as I knew these animals were not
in the habit of kissing, and I well knew they were in the habit of biting.
His look was grave, and manner mild, and he was deficient in those
mischievous tricks so peculiar to the monkey tribe in general. In only
one instance did I experience any mischief from him, and that was in
his meddling with my inkstand: he seemed to have an extraordinary
penchant for the black fluid—would drink the ink, (by placing his finger
in the inkstand, and then sucking it,) and suck the pens, whenever an
opportunity offered of gratifying this morbid propensity: his black
coat did not suffer from his dabbling in ink, unlike many of the human
species, who suffer both in constitution and apparel from meddling too
much with it.
There was a degree of intelligence in the animal, beyond what is usually
termed common instinct. These little miniatures of men,[55] (as they
are satirically termed,) are said to possess more sagacity than other
animals, and to be a close connecting link between the “powerful lord of
the creation,” and creatures of an inferior genus. If it be true, as I
have heard asserted, that intelligence is written in legible characters
on the os frontis of the monkey tribe, I beg to add, that mischief and
cunning also beam in their eye.
One instance of a very close approximation to, if it may not be
considered absolutely an exercise of, the reasoning faculty, occurred
in this animal. Once or twice I lectured him on taking away my soap
continually from the washing-place, which he would remove, for his
amusement, from that place, and leave it about the cabin. One morning I
was writing, the ape being present in the cabin, when casting my eyes
towards him, I saw the little fellow taking the soap. I watched him,
without his perceiving that I did so; and he occasionally would cast a
furtive glance towards the place where I sat. I pretended to write; he
seeing me busily occupied, took the soap, and moved away with it in his
paw. When he had walked half the length of the cabin, I spoke quietly,
without frightening him. The instant he found I saw him, he walked back
again, and deposited the soap nearly in the same place from whence he
had taken it. There was certainly something more than instinct in that
action: he evidently betrayed a consciousness of having done wrong,
both by his first and last actions;—and what is reason if that is not an
exercise of it?
When he walks in the erect posture, he turns the leg and foot outwards,
which occasions him to have a waddling gait and to seem bow-legged.
He would pace the deck, being held by his long arm; and then had a
resemblance to a child just learning to step. The limbs, from their
muscular and strong prehensile power, render the animal a fit inhabitant
for the forest; enabling him to spring from tree to tree with an agility
that we have frequently witnessed him display about the rigging of the
ship: he would pass down the backstays, sometimes hanging by his hands,
at others walking down them in the erect posture, like a rope-dancer,
balancing himself by his long arms; or he would spring from one rope at a
great distance to another, or would drop from one above to another below.
Being aware of his inability to escape pursuit, when running on a level
surface, his first object, when about to make an attack, was to secure
a rope, and swing towards the object he was desirous of attacking; if
defeated, he eluded pursuit by climbing out of reach.
He has an awkward manner of drinking, by which the liquid is much wasted:
he first applies his lips to the liquid, throwing the head up, which in
some degree may be attributed to the prominency of the lower jaw: and if
the vessel in which the liquid is contained should be shallow, he dips
the paw into it, and holding it over the mouth, lets the liquid drop in.
I never observed him lap with the tongue when drinking; but when tea or
coffee was given to him, the lingual organ was carefully protruded for
the purpose of ascertaining its temperature. This display of caution was
not confined to this species of ape, as I know of several others which
will do the same, when hot tea or coffee is given to them; shaking their
sapient head violently, if they are heated by the liquid; but still,
undeterred, will wait patiently until the hot liquid becomes sufficiently
cool for bibulary purposes.
He soon knew the name of Ungka, which had been given to him, and would
readily come to those to whom he was attached when called by that
name. His mildness of disposition and playfulness of manner made him a
universal favourite with all on board.
He was playful, but preferred children to adults. He became particularly
attached to a little Papuan child (Elau, a native of Erromanga, one of
the New Hebrides group,) who was on board, and whom it is not improbable
he may have in some degree considered as having an affinity to his
species. They were often seen sitting near the capstan, the animal with
his long arm round her neck, lovingly eating biscuit together.
She would lead him about by his long arms, like an elder leading a
younger child: and it was the height of the grotesque to witness him
running round the capstan, pursued by, or pursuing, the child. He would
waddle along, in the erect posture, at a rapid pace, sometimes aiding
himself by his knuckles; but when fatigued, he would spring aside, seize
hold of the first rope he came to, and, ascending a short distance,
regard himself as safe from pursuit.
In a playful manner he would roll on deck with the child, as if in a
mock combat, pushing with his feet, (in which action he possessed great
muscular power,) entwining his long arms around her, and pretending to
bite; or, seizing a rope, he would swing towards her, and, when efforts
were made to seize him, would elude the grasp by swinging away; or he
would, by way of changing the plan of attack, drop suddenly on her from
the ropes aloft, and then engage in various playful antics. He would play
in a similar manner with adults; but finding them usually too strong and
rough for him, he preferred children, giving up his games with them, if
any adults joined in the sports at the same time.
If, however, an attempt was made by the child to play with him, when
he had no inclination, or after he had sustained some disappointment,
he usually made a slight impression with his teeth on her arm, just
sufficient to act as a warning, or a sharp hint, that no liberties were
to be taken with his person; or, as the child would say, “Ungka no like
play now.” Not unfrequently, a string being tied to his leg, the child
would amuse herself by dragging the patient animal about the deck: this
he would good-naturedly bear for some time, thinking, perhaps, it amused
his little playmate; but finding it last longer than he expected, he
became tired of that fun, in which he had no share, except in being the
sufferer; he would then make endeavours to disengage himself and retire.
If he found his efforts fruitless, he would quietly walk up to the child,
make an impression with his teeth, in a ratio of hardness according to
his treatment: that hint soon terminated the sport, and procured him his
liberty.
There were also on board the ship several small monkeys, with whom Ungka
was desirous of forming interesting conversaziones, to introduce a
social character among the race, wile away the tedious hours, which pass
but tardily in a ship, and dissipate the monotony of the voyage: to this
the little monkeys would not accede; they treated him as an outcast,
and all cordially united to repel the approaches of the “little man in
black,” by chattering, and various other hostile movements peculiar to
them.
Ungka, thus repelled in his kind endeavours to establish something like
sociality amongst them, determined in his own mind to annoy and punish
them for their impudence; so, the next time they united, as before, in
a body, on his approach, he watched the opportunity, and when one was
off his guard, seized a rope, and, swinging towards him, caught him by
the tail, and hauled away upon it, much to the annoyance of the owner,
who had no idea that such a retaliation was to take place; he continued
pulling upon it, as if determined to detach it, until the agility and
desperation of the monkey, at being so treated, obliged him to relinquish
his hold. But it not unfrequently happened that he made his way up
the rigging, dragging the monkey by the tail after him, and thus made
him follow his course most unwillingly. If in his ascent he required
both hands, he would pass the tail of his captive into the prehensile
power of his foot. It was the most grotesque scene imaginable, and
will long remain in the remembrance of those who witnessed it, and was
performed by Ungka with the most perfect gravity of countenance, whilst
the poor suffering monkey grinned, chattered, twisted about, making
the most strenuous endeavours to escape from his opponent’s grasp. His
countenance, at all times a figure of fun, now had terror added to it,
increasing the delineation of beauty; and when the poor beast had been
dragged some distance up the rigging, Ungka, tired of his labour, would
suddenly let go his hold on the tail, when it would require some skill
on the part of the monkey to seize a rope, to prevent his receiving a
compound fracture by a rapid descent on deck. Ungka, having himself
no caudal extremity, knew well that he was perfectly free from any
retaliation on the part of his opponents.
As this mode of treatment was far from being either amusing or
instructive to the monkeys, they assembled together in an _executive
council_, where it was determined, that in future the “big black
stranger,” who did not accord with them in proportions, and who demeaned
himself by walking erect, wearing no tail, and was in several other
respects guilty of unmonkey-like conduct, should be for the future
avoided and treated with contempt; and should he again think proper to
assault any of the body, they should all unite, and punish him for his
violent conduct. Ungka, when again he made any attempt to renew his
amusement of pulling tails, met with such a warm reception from all the
little creatures assembled, that he found it necessary to give up _tale
bearing_, and devote himself to other pursuits. He had, however, such
an inclination to _draw out tales_, that being obliged from “peculiar
circumstances” to relinquish those of the monkeys, he cultivated the
friendship of a little clean pig that ran about the deck, and, taking
his tail in hand, endeavoured, by frequent pulling, to reduce it from a
curled to a straight form; but all his efforts were in vain, although
piggy did not express any ill-feeling at his kind endeavours.
When dinner was announced by the steward, and the captain and officers
assembled in the cuddy, then Ungka, considering himself as also one of
the mess, would be seen bending his steps towards the cuddy, and entering
took his station, on a corner of the table, between the captain and
myself; there he remained waiting for his share of the food, considering
that we were all in duty and humanity bound to supply him with a
sufficiency of provender. When from any of his ludicrous actions at table
we all burst out in loud laughter, he would vent his indignation at being
made the subject of ridicule, by uttering his peculiar hollow barking
noise, at the same time inflating the air sac, and regarding the persons
laughing with a most serious look, until they had ceased, when he would
quietly resume his dinner.
The animal had an utter dislike to confinement, and was of such a social
disposition as always to prefer company, to being left alone: when shut
up his rage was very violent, throwing every thing about that was lying
near, or that he could move, in his place of confinement, but becoming
perfectly quiet when released. When the animal was standing with his back
towards the spectator, his being tail-less, and standing erect, gave him
the appearance of a little black hairy man; and such an object might
easily have been regarded by the superstitious as one of the infernal
imps.
When he walks, to use a nautical phrase, “he sways the body,” and
stepping at once on the whole of the under surface of the foot, occasions
a pattering noise, like that which is heard when a duck, or any aquatic
bird, walks on the deck of a ship.
When the weather is cold, he may be seen huddled together, loses all his
lively and playful manner, sleeping much during the day, and giving up
all kind of exercise. Like the Lascars, who, as long as the weather is
hot, are capable of any duty, but when they arrive in a northern climate,
exposed to the bleak winds, they sink into a state of inaction, from
which it is almost impossible to rouse them; and many perish, as much
from the want of exercise as from the effects of climate.[56] The return
of warm weather imparted life to the animal, his activity returned, his
spirits revived, and his gambols and sportive gaiety were resumed.
Although every kindness was shown to him by the officers and crew, and
sweetmeats and other niceties were given to him by them by way of bribes,
to engage his confidence and good opinion, yet he would not permit
himself to be taken in the arms, or caressed familiarly by any person
on board during the voyage, except by the commander, the third officer,
and myself; but with any of the children he would readily gambol. It was
a strange fact, that he in particular avoided all those who wore large
bushy whiskers.
It was ludicrous to behold the terrified looks of the animal, if his
finger was taken towards a cup of hot tea, as if to ascertain the
temperature; and his attempt at remonstrating on the impropriety of such
conduct, together with his half-suppressed screams, were very diverting.
Among other amusements, he would frequently hang from a rope by one arm;
and, when in a frolicsome humour, frisk about, with his eyes shut, giving
him the appearance of a person hanging, and in the agonies of death.
When we spoke a ship at sea, his curiosity seemed to be much excited by
the novel object near us, for he would invariably mount up the rigging,
at a height sufficient to command a good view of the stranger, and
sometimes take up his position on the peak haulyards, just under the
flag, a signal, difficult no doubt for the stranger to comprehend; there
he would remain gazing wistfully after the departing stranger, until
he was out of sight—“give one parting, lingering look,” and then come
down on the deck again, and resume the sports from which the stranger’s
appearance had disturbed him.
When strangers came on board he approached them with caution, and at
such a distance, as he considered consistent with his ideas of safety.
To the ladies he did not evince any partiality; we had none on board
by which we could judge whether a few days or weeks of their powerful
fascinations would have any effect on him. The only lady who had honoured
him with her notice was one who came on board from a ship we spoke at
sea; he evinced, however, no partiality to the gentle sex, and would not
permit her to caress him: whether it was the bonnet, which was of the
calibre of 1828, or other portions of the lady’s dress, that excited
his indignation, I cannot say, as the animal could not communicate his
opinions; whatever the cause might have been, he was evidently not
eager to become acquainted with her, but would show a disposition to
bite if she attempted to caress him. As she appeared at first timid of
approaching him, this show of warfare may have been occasioned by it, and
in some degree have made the cunning brute keep up the feeling. I was
acquainted with a lady in Ceylon, who, having been bitten by a cockatoo,
always evinced great terror at the approach of one which was kept by
her Ayah, or lady’s-maid, in the house: the bird appeared aware of it,
for, when he saw the lady approach, he would flap his wings, elevate his
crest, shriek out, and at the same time pretend to pursue her, at which
she ran away quite terrified.
When the poor animal lay on the bed of sickness, from dysentery,
produced by the cold, there was as much inquiry after his health, by
the officers and crew, as if he had been of “human form divine,” for
he was a universal favourite on board; and there was much regret when
he died—all his gambols and playful antics ceasing for ever. His skin,
properly stuffed and preserved in its natural erect attitude, was kept to
be consigned, on our arrival in England, to one of the glass-cases in the
British Museum, where he was eventually deposited.[57]
His death occurred as follows:—On the 19th of March, 1831, we had reached
the latitude 45° 41′ north, and longitude 24° 40′ west. The animal seemed
(although clothed in flannel, and kept in my cabin) to suffer much from
cold, and was attacked by dysentery. He would prefer going on the deck,
in the cold air, with the persons to whom he was attached, to remaining
in the warm cabin with those whom he did not regard. On the 24th he
became much worse, his appetite gone, and he had a dislike of being
moved; the discharge from the bowels was bilious, mixed with blood and
mucus, sometimes entirely of blood and mucus, with a putrescent odour.
The breath had a sickly smell, mouth clammy, eyes dull and suffused; he
drank a little water occasionally, and sometimes a little tea. I gave the
usual remedies of calomel and opium, as if I was treating dysentery in
a human being, and although I was obliged to put the medicine down his
throat myself, the animal made no resistance; and on a renewal of the
doses, did not attempt to prevent it, as if aware that it was intended
for his benefit. He generally remained with his head hanging on the
breast, and limbs huddled together; he would, however, when yawning,
inflate the pouch as usual.
On the 29th we were detained in the “chops of the channel,” by prevailing
easterly winds; and he daily sank until the 31st of March, when he died,
in latitude 48° 36′ north, longitude 9° 1′ west.
On examination of the body soon after death, the thoracic viscera
were found perfectly healthy, and differing from the orang-utan,[58]
in being subdivided on each side, the right lung having three, and the
left two lobes, as in the human subject. The lungs were perfectly free
from tubercles; the spleen was healthy, of small size, and lobulated
at one extremity; the liver was large and healthy; the difference in
size between that organ and the spleen was considerable, in comparison
with the relative proportions of those organs in the human subject. Mr.
Owen does not remark, in the dissection of the orang-utan, whether this
difference of size in the two organs exists also in that animal; the
gall-bladder contained a small quantity of dark, thick, and viscid bile;
several of the mesenteric glands were enlarged, some being of a white,
others of a dark colour.
On laying open the duodenum, it was found to contain a quantity of mucus,
slightly tinged with bile; the colon and cœcum were full of liquid
bilious fœces, mixed with mucus, and several small ulcerated patches were
seen on the inner surface, and a dark spotted appearance at other parts:
the rectum also contained similar fœces, but mixed with a curdy matter;
and there were several large patches of ulceration on the inner coat,[59]
more particularly near the termination of the gut; the kidneys were
healthy; on the right the capsula renalis was large, but none was seen on
the left; the bladder was quite empty, the inner surface scarcely moist.
The animal had been castrated, but the spermatic cord terminated in the
scrotum in two small oval substances, rather larger than small peas; the
sacrum and os coccygis were similar to those parts in the human subject.
The communication of the larynx was examined; the epiglottis was only
indicated by a slight obtuse angular rising; the sacculi laryngis were
three-eighths of an inch in the long diameter, one-eighth in the short;
their margins were well defined, continued forwards, below the body of
the os hyoides, into a membranous sac, situated beneath the external
thick one.[60] This animal has one common sac, and thus differs from the
orang-utan, which has two. The extremities of the bones of the animal
were cartilaginous.
The Angola orang (_Simia troglodytes_, Linn.) has been considered the
most perfect of animals, much more so than the Indian orang, (_Simia
satyrus_,) which has been called the orang-utan, although _both_ are
_very inferior_ to man in corporeal powers and intelligence. When the
Indian orang is compelled to take flight from pressing danger, he
immediately falls down upon all fours, showing clearly that this was the
original position of the animal.[61]
This assertion is correct according to my own observation, as far as
regards the orang-utan, and many of the Gibbons, who maintain the erect
posture only for a short period; but I found the Ungka ape of Sumatra,
(_Simia syndactyla_,) although, similar to the orang-utan, he would
occasionally aid himself by the knuckles when walking, yet would maintain
a more erect posture than I have ever observed in the latter animal,
besides his general form of body and countenance assimilating more to the
human being than the orang. I have seen the Ungka, when pursued, continue
to maintain the erect position for some time, until through fatigue, or
more probably from terror, he would fall to the ground, becoming an easy
capture; but let the ropes of a ship, or any trees, be within reach, he
would then avail himself of the powerful, prehensile, and muscular power
bestowed upon him by nature, and whether over the rigging of the ship,
or the branches of the trees, he would then have sufficient strength
and agility to defy pursuit, although he could not effect it on a level
surface.