Other Apes--The Apes in History--Habitat--The Orangs--The Gibbon
In the various records that constitute the history of these apes are
found many novel and incoherent tales, but most of them appear to
rest upon some basis of truth. In order to arrive at a more definite
knowledge concerning them, we may review the data at our command.
In the annals of the world, the first record that alludes to these
manlike apes is that of Hanno, who made a voyage from Carthage to the
west coast of Africa, nearly five hundred years before the Christian
era. He described an ape which was found in the locality about Sierra
Leone. It is singular that the description which he gave of those apes
should coincide so fully with the apes known at the present day; but it
is quite certain that the apes of which he gave an account were neither
gorillas nor chimpanzees. There is nothing to show that either of these
apes ever occupied that part of the world, or that any similar type has
done so.
The ape described by Hanno was certainly not an anthropoid, but a large
dog-faced monkey or baboon, technically called _cynocephalus_. These
animals are found all along the north coast of the Gulf of Guinea,
but there is no trustworthy evidence of any true ape living north of
Cameroon valley. The river that waters it empties into the sea about
four degrees north of the equator. Here begins the first trace of the
chimpanzee. As we pass along the windward coast, casual reports are
current to the effect that gorillas and chimpanzees occupy the interior
north of there; but when these reports are sifted down to solid facts,
it turns out to be a big baboon or a monkey upon which the story rests.
Its likeness to man, as described by Hanno, was doubtless the work of
fancy, and the name _troglodytes_ which he gave to it shows that he
knew but little of its habits, or cared but little for the exactness of
his statements.
The account given by Henry Battel, in 1590, contains a thread of truth
woven into a web of fantasy. He must have heard the stories he relates,
or seen some specimens along the coast north of the Congo. There are
certain facts which point to this conclusion. The name _pongo_ which
he gave to one of them belongs to the Fiote tongue, which is spoken
by the native tribes around Loango. Those people use the name, and it
is commonly understood to be synonymous with the name _njina_, used
by the tribes north of there. It is always applied to the gorilla. To
me, however, it appears to coincide with the name _ntyii_, as used by
the Esyira people for another ape, which is described in the chapter
devoted to gorillas. It was from Loango that Dr. Falkenstein, in 1876,
secured an ape under that name. It is singular that Baron Wurmb, in
1780, makes use of the name _pongo_ for an orang. I have not been able
to learn where he acquired this name, but it appears to be a native
Fiote name for more than four hundred years, and the history of their
language is fairly well known.
The name _enjocko_, given by Battel to another ape, is beyond a doubt
a corruption of the native name _ntyigo_ (_ntcheego_), and this name
belongs north of the Congo from Mayumba to Gaboon. He may have inferred
that these apes occupied Angola, but there is not a vestige of proof
that any ape exists in that part of Africa. Even the native tribes
of that part have no indigenous name for either of these apes. Other
parts of his account are erroneous, and while he may have believed
that these apes “go in bodies to kill many natives that travel in
the wood,” and the natives may have told him such a thing, the apes
do not practice such a habit. With all their sagacity, they have no
idea of unity of action. If a band of them were attacked, they would
no doubt act together in defense, but it is not to be believed that
they ever preconcert any plan of attack. Neither do these apes ever
assault an elephant. He is the one animal they hold in mortal dread. I
have incidentally mentioned elsewhere the conduct of my two _kulus_ on
board the ship when they saw a young elephant. Chico, the big ape that
has also been mentioned, was often vicious and stubborn. Whenever he
refused to obey his keeper or became violent, an elephant was brought
in sight of his cage. On seeing it he became as meek as a lamb and
showed every sign of the most intense fear. Mr. Bailey himself told me
of the dread both of his apes had of an elephant. Battel was also wrong
in the mode he described of the mother carrying her young, and that of
the apes in using sticks and clubs.
The ape known as _Mafuka_, which was exhibited in Dresden in 1875,
was also brought from the Loango coast, and it is possible that this
is the ape to which the native name _pongo_ really belonged. This
specimen in many respects conforms to the description of the _ntyii_
given, but the idea suggested by certain writers that _Mafuka_ was a
cross between the gorilla and the chimpanzee is not, to my mind, a
tenable supposition. It would be difficult to believe that two apes of
different species in a wild state would cross, but to believe that two
that belonged to different genera would do so is yet more illogical.
I may state, however, that some of the Esyira people advance such a
theory concerning the _ntyii_, but the belief is not general, and those
best skilled in woodcraft regard them as distinct species.
To quote, in “pidjin” English, the exact version of their relationship,
as it was given to me by my interpreter while in that country, may
be of interest to the reader. I may remark, by way of explaining the
nature of the “pidjin” English, that it is a literal translation of the
native mode of thought into English words. The statement was:--
“_Ntyii_ ’e one; _njina_ ’e one; all two ’e one, one. _Ntyii_ ’e one
mudder; _njina_ ’e one mudder; all two ’e one, one. _Ntyii_ ’e one
fader; _njina_ ’e one fader. All two ’e one.” By which the native means
to say that the _ntyii_ has one mother, and the _njina_ has one mother,
so that the two have two mothers, but both have one father, therefore
they are half-brothers.
The other version given in denial of this statement is as follows:--
“_Ntyii_ ’e one mudder; _njina_, ’e one mudder. ’E one, one. _Ntyii_
’e one fader; _njina_ ’e one fader. ’E one, one. All two ’e one, one.
_Ntyii_ ’e one mudder; _njina_ ’e one mudder. All two ’e one, one. ’E
brudder. _Ntyii_ ’im fader; _njina_ ’im ’e brudder. All two ’e one,
one.” The translation is that the _ntyii_ has a mother, and the _njina_
has a mother, which are not the same, but are sisters. The _ntyii_ has
a father, and the _njina_ has a father, which are not the same, but are
brothers; and therefore the two apes are only cousins, which in the
native esteem is a remote degree of kinship.
The ape described by Lopez certainly belonged to the territory north of
the Congo, which coast he explored, and gave his name to a cape about
forty miles south of the equator. It still bears the name Cape Lopez.
However, it is probable that at that time most of the low country now
occupied by these apes was covered with water; that the lakes of that
region were then all embraced in one great estuary, reaching from
Ferran Vaz to Nazavine Bay, and extending eastward to the foothills
below Lamberene. There is abundant evidence to show that such a state
has once existed there, but it is not probable that these apes have
ever changed their latitude.
The name _soko_ appears to be a local name for the ordinary type of
chimpanzee found throughout the whole range of their domain, and known
in other parts by other names. In Malimbu the name _kulu_ appears to
apply to the same species, while in the southwestern part of their
habitat that name, coupled with the verb _kamba_, is confined strictly
to the other type. Along the northern borders of the district to
which that species belongs, but where he is very seldom found and
little known to the natives, he is called by the Nkami tribe _kanga
ntyigo_, to distinguish him from the common variety, to which the
latter name only is applied.
[Illustration: PLAIN AND EDGE OF FOREST IN THE COUNTRY OF THE APES]
The etymology of the name _kanga_ as applied to this ape is rather
obscure. In common use it is a verb, with the normal meaning “to parch”
or “fry,” and hence the secondary meaning “to prepare.” Since this
ape is said to be of a higher order of the race, the term is used to
signify that he is “better prepared” than the other; that is to say, he
is prepared to think and talk in a better manner. But another history
of this word appears to be more probable. The ape to which the name
is applied lives between the Nkami country and the Congo. The name is
possibly a perversion of _kongo_ and implies the kind of _ntyigo_ that
lives towards the great river of that name. The etymology of African
names is always difficult because there is no record of them; but many
of them can be traced out with great precision, and some of them are
unique.
The name _M’Bouve_, as given by Du Chaillu, I have not been able to
identify. In one part of the country I was told that the word meant
the “chief” or head of a family. In another part it was said to mean
something like an advocate or champion, and was applied to only one
ape in a family group. The Rev. A. C. Goode, a missionary who recently
died near Batanga, was stationed for twelve years at Gaboon. During
that time he traveled all through the Ogowé and Gaboon valleys. He was
familiar with the languages of that part, and he explained the word in
about the same way.
Whatever may be said concerning the veracity of Paul du Chaillu, there
is one thing that must be said to his credit. He gave to the world more
knowledge of these apes than all other men had ever done before; and
while he may have given a touch of color to many incidents, and related
some native yarns, he told a vast amount of valuable truth; and I can
forgive him for whatever he may have misstated, except one thing; that
is, the starting of that story about gorillas chewing up gun-barrels.
It has been a staple yarn, in stock ever since, and the instant you ask
a native any question about the habits of the gorilla he begins with a
stereotype edition of that improbable story.
In view of the fact that I have made careful and methodic efforts to
determine the exact boundary of the habitat and the real habits of
these two apes, I feel at liberty to speak with an air of authority.
I have acquired my knowledge on the subject by going to their own
country and living in their own jungle, and I have thus obtained their
secrets from first-hand. With due respect to those who write books and
speak freely upon subjects of which they know but little, I beg leave
to suggest that if the authors had gone into the jungle and lived
among those animals, instead of consulting others who know less than
themselves about the subject, many of them would have written in a very
different strain. I do not mean this as a rebuke to any one, but seeing
the same old stories repeated year after year, and knowing that there
is no truth in them, I feel it incumbent as a duty to challenge them.
I believe that in the future it will be shown that there are two types
of gorilla as distinct from each other as the two chimpanzees are. This
second variety of gorilla will be found between the third and fifth
parallels south and east of the delta district, but west of the Congo.
I believe it was represented in the ape _Mafuka_.
My researches among the apes have been confined chiefly to the
two kinds heretofore described, but I have seen and studied in a
superficial way the orang and the gibbon. I am not prepared as yet to
discuss the habits of those two apes, but, as they form a part of the
group of anthropoids, we cannot dismiss them without honorable mention.
The orang-outang, as he is commonly called, is known to zoölogy by the
first of these terms alone. He is a native of Borneo and Sumatra, and
opinions differ as to whether there are two species or only one.
The general plan of the skeleton of the orang is very much the same as
that of the other apes. The chief points of difference are that it has
one bone more in the wrist and one joint less in the spinal column than
is found in man. He has thirteen pairs of ribs, which appear to be more
constant in their number than in man. His arms are longer, and his legs
shorter, in proportion to his body than the other two apes. The type of
the skull is peculiar and combines to a certain extent more human-like
form in one part with a more beast-like form in another. The usual
height of an adult male is about fifty-one inches.
I have never had an opportunity of studying this ape in a wild state
and have had access to only a few of them in captivity. All of these
were young, and most of them were inferior specimens. He is the most
stupid and obtuse of the four great apes. Except for his skeleton
alone, he would be assigned a place below the gibbon, for in point
of speech and mental caliber he is far inferior. Perhaps the best
authorities upon the habits of this ape in a wild state are Messrs. W.
T. Hornaday and Alfred R. Wallace.
[Illustration: Young Orangs (From a Photograph.)]
The smallest and last in order of the anthropoid apes is the gibbon.
He is much smaller in size, greater in variety, and more active than
any other of the group. His habitat is in the southeast of Asia; its
outline is vaguely defined, but it includes the Malay Peninsula and
many of the contiguous islands east and south of it.
In model and texture the skeleton of the gibbon is the most delicate
and graceful of all the apes, and in this respect is superior to that
of man. He is the only one of the four apes that can walk in an erect
position. In doing this the gibbon is awkward and often uses his arms
to balance himself. Sometimes he touches his hands to the ground. At
other times he raises them above his head or extends them on either
side. The length of them is such that he can touch the fingers to the
ground while the body is nearly or quite erect. In the spinal column
he has two, and sometimes three, sections more than man. His digits
are very much longer, but his legs are nearly the same length, in
proportion to his body, as those of man. He has fourteen pairs of ribs.
The gibbon is the most active and probably the most intelligent of all
apes. He is more arboreal in habit than any other. Many stories are
told of his agility in climbing, and leaping from limb to limb. One
authentic report credits one of these apes with leaping a distance of
forty-two feet, from the limb of one tree to that of another. Perhaps
a better term is to call it swinging, rather than leaping, as these
flights are performed chiefly by the arms. Another account is that a
gibbon swinging by one hand propelled himself a horizontal distance of
eighteen feet through the air, seized a bird in flight, and alighted
safely upon another limb, with his prey in hand.
There are several known species of this ape. The largest of these is
about three feet high; but the usual height is not more than thirty
inches. The voice of one species is remarkable for its strength, scope,
and quality, being in these regards superior to that of all other
apes. Most of the members of this genus are endowed with better vocal
qualities than other animals.
This ends the list of the manlike apes. Next in order after them come
the monkeys, then the baboons, and, last, the lemurs.
The descent, as we have elsewhere observed, from the highest ape to the
lowest monkey presents one unbroken scale of imbricating planes. We
have seen in what degree man is related to the higher apes. From thence
we may discern in what degree his physical nature is the same as that
of all the order to which he belongs. No matter in what respect man may
differ in his mental and moral nature, his likeness to them should at
least restrain his pride, evoke his sympathy, and cause him to share
the bounty of his benevolence. Let him realize in full extent that he
is one in nature with the rest of animate creatures, and they will
receive the benign influence of his dignity without impairing it, while
he will elevate himself by having given it.