GORILLAS
In the order of nature the gorilla occupies the second place below man.
His habitat is in the lowlands of West Tropical Africa, and is confined
to very narrow limits. The vague line which bounds his realm cannot be
defined with absolute precision, but those generally given in books
that treat of him are not correct. If he ever occupied any part of the
coast north of the equator, he has long since become extinct in that
part, but there is nothing to show that he ever did exist there. So
far as I have been able to trace the lines that prescribe his native
haunts, he appears to be confined to the low, delta country, lying
between the Equator and Loango along the coast, and reaching eastward
to the interior, an average distance of about one hundred miles. The
eastern boundary is very irregular. To be more exact, the extreme limit
on the north side would be the Gaboon River to its head-waters, thence
southward to the Ogowe River to the mouth of the Nguni River; up that
river twenty or thirty miles, thence a zigzag line along the western
base of the dividing lands between the Congo basin and the Atlantic
watershed, to the head-waters of the Chi Loango River, and with that
to the coast. Beyond these lines I have never been able to find any
trace of him, and along this boundary only now and then are they found.
I have seen two adult and two infant skulls of the gorilla that were
brought by Mr. Wm. S. Cherry, from the Kisango Valley, which lies north
of the middle Congo in the interior. The skulls are the only evidence
I have ever found of this ape existing so far eastward, but they were
said to have come from that part of the valley lying directly under the
equator. Mr. Cherry did not collect them himself, but secured them from
natives, and does not claim to have seen any of these apes alive.
There appear to be three centres of population: the first is in the
basin of Izanga Lake; the second in the basin of Lake Fernan Vaz; and
the third in the basin of the lake behind Sette Kama. They are rarely
ever found in high or hilly districts, but appear to inhabit the
hummock lands, which are only elevated a few feet above tide-level.
This is singular, from the fact that the ape has a morbid dislike for
deep water, and I think it doubtful if he can swim, although he has one
peculiar character that belongs to aquatic animals, which is a kind of
web between the digits, but its purpose cannot be to aid in swimming.
I have been told that the gorilla can swim, and it may be true; but I
have never observed anything in his habits to confirm this, while I
have noted many facts that controvert it.
I know of no valid reason why he should be confined so strictly
within the limits mentioned, unless it be from a condition of climate
which seems peculiar to this district. South of it the climate along
the coast is much cooler, and the country back of it is hilly and
barren; north of the Equator is a land of perpetual rain, while to the
eastward, it is mountainous. Within this district the rainy and dry
seasons are more fixed and uniform.
The gorilla appears to be an indigenous product which does not bear
transplanting; he thrives only in a low, hot and humid region, infested
by malaria, miasma and fevers. It is doubtful if he can long survive in
a pure atmosphere.
The only single specimen that I have ever heard of north of the
equator, was one on the south side of the Komo River, which is the
north branch of the Gaboon. The point at which I heard of him was
within a few miles of the equator. I also heard of five having been
seen a few miles south-west from Njole, which is located on the Equator
on the south side of the Ogowe, a little way east of the Nguni, and
they were said to be the first ever seen in that part within the memory
of man.
[Illustration: NATIVES SKINNING A GORILLA]
As to their being found between Gaboon and Cameroon, I can find no
trace along the coast of one ever having been seen in that part.
Certain writers have mentioned the fact that in 1851 and 1852 they came
in great numbers from the interior to the coast. From such a statement
it might be inferred that they were seen in herds or armies together,
while the truth was that in those years a few more gorillas appeared
to be in the jungle than was usual, but they were not north of the
Gaboon River. They were in the Ogowe delta about 1° south latitude;
but no one ever supposed that they came from the Crystal Mountains or
any other mountains. At that time neither traders nor missionaries
had ascended the Gaboon River above Parrot Island (which is less than
twenty miles from the mouth), except to make a flying trip by canoe,
and nothing was known of that part except what was learned from the
natives, and that was very little. During my first voyage I went
up that river as far as Nenge Nenge, about seventy-five miles from
the coast. I spent two days there with a white trader who had been
stationed there for a year, and I was assured by him that there were
no gorillas known in that part. The natives report that they have been
found in the lowlands south of there in the direction of the Ogowe
basin; but their reports are conflicting, and none of them, so far
as I could learn, claim that he is found north of there, nor in the
mountains eastward. I admit the possibility that he has been found and
may yet inhabit the strip of land between this river and the Ogowe, but
I repeat that there is no proof that he was ever found north of the
Gaboon. With due respect to Sir Richard Owen and others who have never
been in that country, I insist that they are mistaken.
It is true that one of the tribes living north of the Gaboon has a name
for this animal, but it does not follow that he lives in that country.
The Orunga tribe have a name for lion, but there is not such a beast
within 400 miles of their country, and not one of that tribe ever saw
one.
A vast number of specimens have been secured at Gaboon, but they have
been brought there from far away, because it is the chief town of the
colony, and there are more white men there to buy them than elsewhere.
It is quite impossible for a stranger to ascertain what part a specimen
is brought from. The native hunter will not tell the truth lest some
one else should find the game and thus deprive him of its capture and
sale.
I once saw a specimen at Cameroon, and was told that it had been
captured in that valley fifty miles from the coast; but I hunted up
its history and found with absolute certainty that it was captured
near Mayumba, 200 miles south of Gaboon. Even with the greatest care
in hunting up the history of specimens one may fail, and often does
in tracing it to its true source, but every one so far, that I have
followed up, has been brought somewhere within the limits I have laid
down. Contrary to the statement of some authorities that these apes
"have never been seen on the coast" since 1852, the greatest number of
them are found near the coast. I do not mean to say that they sit on
the sand along the beach, or bathe in the surf, but they live in the
jungle of that part.
Along the Lower Congo the gorilla is known only in name, and scores of
the natives do not know even that. The nearest point to that river
that I have been able to locate the gorilla as a native, is in the
territory about sixty or seventy miles north-west of Stanley Pool.
I am indebted to the late Carl Steckelmann, who was drowned at Mayumba
in my presence last October. He was an old resident of the coast, a
good explorer, a careful observer, and an extensive traveller. I knew
him well, and secured from him much information concerning the gorilla.
He traced out with me, on a map, what he believed to be the south and
south-east limits of the gorilla. Not thirty minutes before the fatal
accident in which he lost his life, I had closed arrangements with
him to make an expedition from Mayumba to the Congo, near Stanley
Pool, by one route, and return by another, but his death prevented its
fulfilment.
Dr. Wilson, who was the first missionary at Gaboon and located there
in 1842, wrote a lexicon of the native language about six years after
that time. In this he entirely omits the name of the gorilla. Dr.
Walker eight years later gave the definition, "a monkey larger than a
man." But he had never seen a specimen of the ape, except the skulls
and a skeleton which were brought from other parts. It is true that
Dr. Savage first learned at Gaboon about the gorilla, and secured a
skull at that place from which he made drawings, and on which account
his name was attached to the animal in Natural History. Dr. Ford a few
years later sent the first skeleton to America, and Captain Harris
sent the first to England. The former is in the Museum of Zoology at
Philadelphia. Both of these specimens may have come from any place a
hundred miles away from Gaboon.
It is possible at this early date the gorilla may have occupied the
peninsula south of the Gaboon River, in greater numbers than he has
ever done since, because up to that time there had been no demand for
him; but if such was true at that time, it is not so now, and if he is
not extinct in that part, he is so rare as to make it doubtful whether
or not he is found there at all.
In four journeys along the Ogowe River and the lakes of that valley, I
made careful inquiries at many of the towns, and the natives assured
me that the gorillas lived on the south side of that river. I spent
five days at the village of Mbiro, which is located on the north side
of the river and about fifty miles from the coast. There I was told by
the native woodsmen that no gorillas lived on the north side, but there
were plenty of them along the lakes south of the river. They said that
in the forest back of that town were plenty of chimpanzees, and that
they were sometimes mistaken for gorillas, but there were absolutely
none of the latter in that part. In view of these and countless other
facts, I deem it safe to say that few or no gorillas can be found north
of the Ogowe River at any point, and I even doubt if the specimen heard
of on the Komo was a genuine gorilla. The natives sometimes claim to
have something of the kind for sale in order to get a bonus from some
trader, when in truth he may not have anything of the kind.
The only point north of the Ogowe at which I had any reason to believe
a gorilla could be found was in the neighbourhood of a small lake
called Inenga. This lake is nearly due west from the mouth of the Nguni
River and something more than a hundred miles from the coast. Certain
reports along that part appeared to have some flavour of truth, but
there was no proof except the word of the natives.
In the lake region south of the river they are fairly abundant as far
south as the head-waters of the Rembo Nkami and through the low country
of the Esyira tribe, but they are very rare in the forests, and unknown
in the highlands and plains of this country. South of the Chi Loango
they are quite unknown, and south of the Congo never heard of.
There are no means possible to estimate their number, but they are not
so numerous as may be supposed, and from the reckless slaughter of them
by the natives in order to secure them for white men, they may soon
become extinct. Their ferocity alone has saved them up to this time
from such a fate, but the use of approved arms will soon overcome that.
The skeleton of the gorilla is so nearly the same as that of the
chimpanzee, which has elsewhere been compared to the human skeleton,
that we shall not review the comparison at length, but must note one
marked feature in the external form of the skull, which differs alike
from other apes and man.
The skull of the young gorilla is much like that of the chimpanzee,
and remains so until he approaches the adult state; but as he
approaches this period, the ridge above the eyes becomes more
prominent, and at the same time a sharp, bony ridge begins to develop
along the temples, and continues around the back of the head on that
part of the skull called the occiput. At this point it is intersected
by another ridge at right angles to it. This is called the sagittal
ridge, and runs along the top of the head towards the face; but on the
forehead it flattens nearly to the level of the skull, and divides
into two very low ridges, which turn off to a point above the eyes
and merges into that ridge. These appear to be a continuous part of
the skull, and are not joined to it by sutures. The mesial crest in
very old specimens rises to the height of nearly two inches above the
surface of the skull, and imparts to it a fierce and savage aspect;
but in the living animal the crests are not seen, as the depressions
between them are filled with large muscles, which make the head look
very much larger than it would otherwise. These crests affect only the
exterior of the skull, and do not appear to alter the form or size
of the brain cavity, which is larger in proportion than that of the
chimpanzee. These crests are peculiar to the male gorilla, and the
female skull shows no trace of them.
[Illustration: PLATE I]
[Illustration: PLATE II]
There is at least one case in which this crest has failed to develop in
the male. By reference to the series of skulls found in the cuts given
herewith, No. 6 is that of an adult male, which I know to be such, as
I dissected him and prepared the skeleton myself. He was killed
in the basin of Lake Fernan Vaz, not more than two or three hours from
my cage, and his body was brought to me at once. A good idea of his
size can be obtained by reference to another cut given herewith, where
I have some natives skinning him. In this picture he is sitting flat
on the sand; his body is limp, and is somewhat shorter than it was in
life, and yet it can be seen that the top of his head is higher than
the hip of the man who is holding him. On the left of the gorilla, in
the foreground, sits the man who killed him. He is sitting on a log,
and it did not occur to me until too late to place them side by side
in order to make a comparison. The body and head of this gorilla as
he sits measured nearly four feet from the base of the spinal column
to the top of the head. I did not weigh him, but made an estimate by
lifting him in my hand, and believed he weighed at least 240 lbs. Yet
he was not an old specimen, but if compared to No. 7, in which the
crests are well developed, it is found to be larger, and other things
point to the fact that he was older.
I am aware that one specimen of itself does not prove anything, but it
shows in this case that this ape does not always develop that crest.
His head was surmounted by the red crown which we have described,
and No. 1, which is the skull of Othello, had the same mark. He was
captured near the place where No. 6 was killed. No. 2, which is the
skull of a young female nearly four years old, had the same, and she
was also captured in the same basin, but on the opposite side of the
lake.
The facial bones of No. 6 showed that the animal had received a severe
blow in early life, but the fragments had knitted together, and the
effect could not be seen in the face of the ape while alive. In this
same picture it will be noticed that the lower lip hangs down so low
that the mouth is opened. The lip is very massive and mobile, and in
this character he resembles the negro. The lower lip is much thicker
and more flexible than the upper.
No. 8 is the skull of a large male from Lake Izanga, which is on the
south side of the Ogowe River, more than a hundred miles from the
coast, and is one of the three centres of population mentioned. I do
not know its history. It was presented to me by Mr. James Deemin, an
English trader with whom I travelled many days in the Ogowe River; and
I wish here to take occasion to express my sincere thanks to him for
the many kindnesses extended to me.
No. 5 is the skull of an adult female. By comparing it in profile to
No. 6 it will be seen that they resemble, but the muzzle of the latter
projects a little more, and the curvature of the skull across the top
is less: the distance a little greater.
Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are female; the others are all male.
Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10 belong to the Liverpool Museum, but are shown
here for comparison. The other four are all at Toronto University.
While this series is not complete in either sex, it is an excellent one
for comparative study.
I do not know whether the heads of those with the crests were the
same colour as No. 6 or not, but the _ntyii_, which I have mentioned
as possibly a new species of the gorilla, does not have this crown of
red. His ears are also said to be larger than those of the gorilla, but
smaller than the chimpanzee's, and he is reputed to grow to a larger
size than either of them.
The skin of the gorilla is a dull black or mummy colour over the body,
but that of the face is a jet black, quite smooth and soft. It looks
almost like velvet.
One fact peculiar to this ape is, that the palms of both hands and
feet are perfectly black. In other animals these are usually lighter
in colour than the exposed parts. In all races of men, in all other
apes, monkeys, baboons, and lemurs, the palms are lighter than the
backs of the hands, and the same is true of the feet. The thumb of the
gorilla is more perfect than that of the chimpanzee, yet it is smaller
in proportion to the hand than in man. The hand is very large, but has
more the shape of the hand of a woman than that of man. The fingers
taper in a graceful manner, but appear much shorter, by reason of the
web alluded to, than they really are. It is not really a web, in the
true sense, but the integument between the fingers is extended down
almost to the second joint, but the forward edge of the web, when the
fingers are spread, is concave; when brought together, the skin on the
knuckles becomes wrinkled, and the web almost disappears. This effect
is more readily noticed in the living animal than in the dead. The
texture of the skin in the palms is coarsely granulated, and the palmar
lines are indistinct. The great toe sets at an angle from the side of
the foot, like a thumb, but has more prehensile power than that of the
hand; but the foot is much less flexible, and has less prehensile power.
At this point I desire to draw attention to one important fact. The
tendons of the foot, which open and close the digits, are imbedded in
the palm in a deep layer of coarse, gristly matter, which forms a pad,
as it were, under the sole of the foot, and prevents it from bending;
therefore it is not possible for the gorilla to sleep on a perch. In
this respect he resembles man more than the chimpanzee does, but it
is quite certain that neither of them have the arboreal habit. The
gorilla is an expert climber, but cannot sleep in a tree. In the hand
the tendons which close the fingers are the same length as the line of
the bones, and this permits him to open the fingers to a straight line,
which the chimpanzee cannot do.
One other important point I desire to mention. The muscles in the leg
of a gorilla will not permit it to stand or walk erect. The large
muscle at the back of the leg is shorter than the line of the bones
of the leg above and below the knee; and when this muscle is brought
to a tension, those bones form an angle of about 130 degrees, or
thereabouts; and so long as the sum of two sides of a triangle is
greater than the other side, a gorilla can never bring his leg into a
straight line. In the infant state the muscle is pliant or elastic,
and the bones less rigid, so that in that state it can be made nearly
straight. The habit of hanging by the arms and walking with them in a
straight line develops the corresponding muscle in that member, so that
the bones can be brought in line.
The gorilla can stand upon his feet alone, and walk a few steps in that
position; but his motion is awkward, because his knees turn outward,
forming an angle of 30 or 35 degrees on either side of the mesial
plain. He never attempts to walk in this position, except at perfect
leisure, and then usually holds on to something with his hands. The
tallest gorilla known, when perfectly erect, is about 6 feet 2 inches.
The leg of the gorilla from the knee to the ankle is almost the same
size. In the human leg there is what is called the "calf" of the leg,
but this in the apes is very small; however, there is a slight tendency
in that direction, and it must be noted that in the human species the
calf of the leg appears to belong to the higher types of men; and as we
descend from the highest races of mankind this character disappears as
we approach the savage. The pigmies and the bushmen have the smallest
of any other men. It is not to be inferred from this that apes would
ever have this feature developed in them by elevating them to a higher
plane so long as they remained apes; but it is possible that such a
result would follow in the course of time.
One thing which tends to lessen this in the gorilla is the size of the
muscles about the ankle and the flexibility of that joint. Also the
joint of the knee, being much larger in proportion to the leg, makes
the calf appear smaller than it really is.
The corresponding part of the arm is more like that part of the human
body.
In a sitting posture the gorilla rests his body upon the ischial
bones, with his legs extended or crossed, while the chimpanzee usually
squats, resting those bones upon his heels. He sometimes sits, but more
frequently squats. When in these attitudes, both usually fold their
arms across their breasts.
The hair of the gorilla is irregular in growth. It is more dense than
that of the chimpanzee, but less uniform in size and distribution.
On the breast it is very sparse, on the arms, long, and on the back,
dense, and interspersed with long coarse hairs. The ground of colour
is black, but the extreme end of the hair is tipped with pale white.
This is so in early youth, and with age the white encroaches, until,
in extreme age, the animal is quite grey. The top of the head is
covered with a thick growth of short hair, of a dark tan colour, which
looks almost like a wig. This mark seems to be peculiar to certain
localities, but is uniform among those captured in the Fernan Vaz basin.
[Illustration: YOUNG GORILLA WALKING]
A white trader living on this lake claims to have seen a gorilla which
was perfectly white. It was seen on the plain near the lake. It was
in company with three or four others. It was thought to be an albino,
but in my opinion it was only a very aged specimen turned grey. A few
of them have been secured that were almost white. It is not, however,
such a shade of white as would be found in an animal whose normal
colour is white. I cannot vouch for the colour of this ape seen on the
plain, but there must have been something peculiar in it to attract so
much attention among the natives.
So far, only one species of this ape is known to science, but there
are reasons to believe that two species exist. In the forest regions
of Esyira the natives described to me another kind of ape, which they
averred was a half-brother to the gorilla. They know the gorilla by
the native name _njina_, and the other type by the name _ntyii_. They
did not confuse this with the native name _ntyigo_, which is the name
of the chimpanzee, nor with _kulu-kamba_, all of which are known to
them; but they described in detail, and quite correctly, the three
known kinds of ape, and in addition gave me a minute account of the
appearance and habits of the fourth kind, which I believe to be another
species of the gorilla. They claim that he is more intelligent and
human-like than any one of the others; and they say that his superior
wisdom makes him more alert, and therefore more difficult to find. He
is said always to live in parts of the forest most remote from human
habitation.
The dental formula of the gorilla is the same as that of man, but
the teeth are larger and stronger, and the canine teeth are developed
almost into huge tusks. One thing to be remarked is the great variety
of malformations in the teeth of this animal. It is a rare thing to
find among them a perfect set of teeth, except in infancy. The cause of
this appears to be violence or accident.
The eyes of the gorilla are large, dark, and expressive, but there
is no trace of white in them. That part of the eye which is white in
man is a dark coffee-brown in the gorilla, but becomes lighter as it
approaches the base of the optic nerve. The taxidermist or the artist,
who often furnishes him with a white spot in the corner of his eye,
does violence to the subject; and those who pose the animal with his
mouth open like a fly-trap, and his arms raised like a lancer, ought
to be banished from good society. It is true that such things lend an
aspect of ferocity to the creature, but they are caricatures of the
thing they mean to portray.
The ears of the gorilla are very small, and lie close to the sides of
the head. The model of them is much like the human ear.
I shall not pursue the comparison into minute details, but leave
that to the specialist, in whose hands it will be treated with more
skill and greater scope. As my especial line of research has been
in the study of their speech and habits, I shall confine myself to
that, but the general comparison I have made is necessary to a better
understanding of the subject.