The ORANG-OUTANG;--a native of Cochin China, Malacca, and the large
adjacent islands. It has a countenance more like that of man than any
other animal. It seldom walks erect, and seems to make its home in the
trees. It is covered with reddish brown hair.
_An Orang-Outang in Holland._--This was a female, brought to that
country in 1776. She generally walked on all fours, like other apes,
but could also walk nearly erect. When, however, she assumed this
posture, her feet were not usually extended like those of a man, but
the toes were curved beneath, in such a manner that she rested chiefly
on the exterior sides of the feet. One morning she escaped from her
chain, and was seen to ascend with wonderful agility the beams and
oblique rafters of the building. With some trouble she was retaken, and
very extraordinary muscular powers were, on this occasion, remarked in
the animal. The efforts of four men were found necessary in order to
secure her. Two of them seized her by the legs, and a third by the
head, whilst the other fastened the collar round her body.
During the time she was at liberty, among other pranks, she had taken a
bottle of Malaga wine which she drank to the last drop, and then set
the bottle again in its place. She ate readily of any kind of food
which was presented to her; but her chief sustenance was bread, roots,
and fruit. She was particularly fond of carrots, strawberries, aromatic
plants, and roots of parsley. She also ate meat, boiled and roasted, as
well as fish, and was fond of eggs, the shells of which she broke with
her teeth, and then emptied by sucking out the contents. If
strawberries were presented to her on a plate, she would pick them up,
one by one, with a fork, and put them into her mouth, holding, at the
same time, the plate in the other hand. Her usual drink was water; but
she also would drink very eagerly all sorts of wine, and of Malaga, in
particular, she was very fond. While she was on shipboard, she ran
freely about the vessel, played with the sailors, and would go, like
them, into the kitchen for her mess. When, at the approach of night,
she was about to lie down, she would prepare the bed on which she slept
by shaking well the hay, and putting it in proper order; and, lastly,
would cover herself up snugly in the quilt.
One day, on noticing the padlock of her chain opened with a key, and
shut again, she seized a little bit of stick, and, putting it into the
keyhole, turned it about in all directions, endeavoring to open it.
When this animal first arrived in Holland, she was only two feet and a
half high, and was almost entirely free from hair on any part of her
body, except her back and arms; but, on the approach of winter, she
became thickly covered all over, and the hair on her back was at least
six inches long, of a chestnut color, except the face and paws, which
were somewhat of a reddish bronze color. This interesting brute died
after having been seven months in Holland.
_An Orang-Outang killed in Sumatra._--This specimen measured eight feet
in height when suspended for the purpose of being skinned. The form and
arrangement of his beard were beautiful; there was a great deal of the
human expression in his countenance, and his piteous actions when
wounded, and great tenacity of life, rendered the scene tragical and
affecting. On the spot where he was killed, there were five or six tall
trees, which greatly prolonged the combat; for so great were his
strength and agility in bounding from branch to branch, that his
pursuers were unable to take a determinate aim, until they had felled
all the trees but one. Even then he did not yield himself to his
antagonists till he had received five balls, and been moreover thrust
through with a spear. One of the first balls appears to have penetrated
his lungs, for he was observed immediately to sling himself by his feet
from a branch, with his head downwards, so as to allow the blood to
flow from his mouth. On receiving a wound, he always put his hand over
the injured part, and distressed his pursuers by the human-like agony
of his expression. When on the ground, after being exhausted by his
many wounds, he lay as if dead, with his head resting on his folded
arms. It was at this moment that an officer attempted to give him the
_coup-de-grace_ by pushing a spear through his body, but he immediately
jumped on his feet, wrested the weapon from his antagonist, and
shivered it in pieces. This was his last wound, and his last great
exertion; yet he lived some time afterwards, and drank, it is stated,
great quantities of water. Captain Cornfoot also observes, that the
animal had probably travelled some distance to the place where he was
killed, as his legs were covered with mud up to the knees.
_An Orang-Outang brought to England._--Dr. Clark Abel has given the
following interesting account of an orang-outang which he brought from
Java to England: "On board ship an attempt being made to secure him by
a chain tied to a strong staple, he instantly unfastened it, and ran
off with the chain dragging behind; but finding himself embarrassed by
its length, he coiled it once or twice, and threw it over his shoulder.
This feat he often repeated; and when he found that it would not remain
on his shoulder, he took it into his mouth. After several abortive
attempts to secure him more effectually, he was allowed to wander
freely about the ship, and soon became familiar with the sailors, and
surpassed them in agility. They often chased him about the rigging, and
gave him frequent opportunities of displaying his adroitness in
managing an escape. On first starting, he would endeavor to outstrip
his pursuers by mere speed; but when much pressed, eluded them by
seizing a loose rope, and swinging out of their reach. At other times,
he would patiently wait on the shrouds, or at the mast-head, till his
pursuers almost touched him, and then suddenly lower himself to the
deck by any rope that was near him, or bound along the main-stay from
one mast to the other, swinging by his hands, and moving them one over
the other. The men would often shake the ropes by which he clung with
so much violence, as to make me fear his falling; but I soon found that
the power of his muscles could not be easily overcome. When in a
playful humor, he would often swing within arm's length of his pursuer,
and having struck him with his hand, throw himself from him.
"Whilst in Java, he lodged in a large tamarind-tree near my dwelling,
and formed a bed by intertwining the small branches, and covering them
with leaves. During the day, he would lie with his head projecting
beyond his nest, watching whoever might pass under; and when he saw any
one with fruit, would descend to obtain a share of it. He always
retired for the night at sunset, or sooner if he had been well fed, and
rose with the sun, and visited those from whom he habitually received
food.
"Of some small monkeys on board from Java, he took little notice whilst
under the observation of the persons of the ship. Once, indeed, he
openly attempted to throw a small cage, containing three of them,
overboard; because, probably, he had seen them receive food, of which
he could obtain no part. But although he held so little intercourse
with them when under our inspection, I had reason to suspect that he
was less indifferent to their society when free from our observation;
and was one day summoned to the top-gallant-yard of the mizzen-mast, to
overlook him playing with a young male monkey. Lying on his back,
partially covered with a sail, he for some time contemplated, with
great gravity, the gambols of the monkey, which bounded over him; but
at length caught him by the tail, and tried to envelop him in his
covering. The monkey seemed to dislike his confinement, and broke from
him, but again renewed its gambols, and although frequently caught,
always escaped. The intercourse, however, did not seem to be that of
equals, for the orang-outang never condescended to romp with the
monkey, as he did with the boys of the ship. Yet the monkeys had
evidently a great predilection for his company; for whenever they broke
loose, they took their way to his resting-place, and were often seen
lurking about it, or creeping clandestinely towards him. There appeared
to be no gradation in their intimacy, as they appeared as confidently
familiar with him when first observed, as at the close of their
acquaintance.
"This animal neither practises the grimaces and antics of other
monkeys, nor possesses their perpetual proneness to mischief. Gravity,
approaching to melancholy, and mildness, were sometimes strongly
expressed in his countenance, and seemed to be the characteristics of
his disposition. When he first came among strangers, he would sit for
hours with his hand upon his head, looking pensively at all around him;
and when much incommoded by their examination, would hide himself
beneath any covering that was at hand. His mildness was evinced by his
forbearance under injuries, which were grievous before he was excited
to revenge; but he always avoided those who often teased him. He soon
became strongly attached to those who kindly used him. By their side he
was fond of sitting; and getting as close as possible to their persons,
would take their hands between his lips, and fly to them for
protection. From the boatswain of the Alceste, who shared his meals
with him, and was his chief favorite, although he sometimes purloined
the grog and the biscuit of his benefactor, he learned to eat with a
spoon; and might be often seen sitting at his cabin door, enjoying his
coffee, quite unembarrassed by those who observed him, and with a
grotesque and sober air, that seemed a burlesque on human nature.
"On board ship he commonly slept at the masthead, after wrapping
himself in a sail. In making his bed, he used the greatest pains to
remove every thing out of his way that might render the surface on
which he intended to lie uneven; and, having satisfied himself with
this part of his arrangement, spread out the sail, and, lying down upon
it on his back, drew it over his body. Sometimes I preoccupied his bed,
and teased him by refusing to give it up. On these occasions he would
endeavor to pull the sail from under me, or to force me from it, and
would not rest till I had resigned it. If it were large enough for
both, he would quietly lie by my side.
"His food in Java was chiefly fruit, especially mangostans, of which he
was extremely fond. He also sucked eggs with voracity, and often
employed himself in seeking them. On board ship his diet was of no
definite kind. He ate readily of all kinds of meat, and especially raw
meat; was very fond of bread, but always preferred fruits, when he
could obtain them.
"His beverage in Java was water; on board ship, it was as diversified
as his food. He preferred coffee and tea, but would readily take wine,
and exemplified his attachment to spirits by stealing the captain's
brandy bottle. Since his arrival in London, he has preferred beer and
milk to any thing else, but drinks wine and other liquors.
"I have seen him exhibit violent alarm on three occasions only, when he
appeared to seek for safety in gaining as high an elevation as
possible. On seeing eight large turtles brought on board, whilst the
Caesar was off the Island of Ascension, he climbed with all possible
speed to a higher part of the ship than he had ever before reached,
and, looking down upon them, projected his long lips into the form of a
hog's snout, uttering, at the same time, a sound which might be
described as between the croaking of a frog and the grunting of a pig.
After some time, he ventured to descend, but with great caution,
peeping continually at the turtles, but could not be induced to
approach within many yards of them. He ran to the same height, and
uttered the same sounds, on seeing some men bathing and splashing in
the sea; and since his arrival in England, has shown nearly the same
degree of fear at the sight of a live tortoise."
This animal survived his transportation to England from August, 1817,
when he arrived, to the 1st April, 1819; during which interval he was
in the custody of Mr. Cross, at Exeter 'Change, as much caressed for
the gentleness of his disposition as he was noticed for his great
rarity. There was no need of personal confinement, and little of
restraint or coercion; to his keepers, especially, and to those whom he
knew by their frequent visits, he displayed a decided partiality.
During his last illness, and at his death, his piteous appearance,
which seemed to bespeak his entreaties to those about him for relief,
did not fail to excite the feelings of all who witnessed them--an
excitement evidently heightened by the recollection of human suffering
under similar circumstances, which the sight of this animal so strongly
brought to mind.
The CHIMPANSE;--a native of Guinea and Congo, in Africa. Its frame is
more analogous to that of man than to that of any other tribe, and it
is the only one that can walk erect with ease. It lives in troops, uses
stones and clubs as weapons, and was mistaken for a species of wild
man, by early voyagers along the African coast.
_The Chimpanse on Board a Vessel._--M. De Grandpre, speaking of the
Chimpanse, says that "his sagacity is extraordinary; he generally walks
upon two legs, supporting himself with a stick. The negro fears him,
and not without reason, as he sometimes treats him very roughly. He
saw, on board a vessel, a female chimpanse, which exhibited wonderful
proofs of intelligence. Among other arts, she had learnt to heat the
oven; she took great care not to let any of the coals fall out, which
might have done mischief in the ship; and she was very accurate in
observing when the oven was heated to the proper degree, of which she
immediately apprized the baker, who, relying with perfect confidence
upon her information, carried his dough to the oven as soon as the
chimpanse came to fetch him. This animal performed all the business of
a sailor, spliced ropes, handled the sails, and assisted at unfurling
them; and she was, in fact, considered by the sailors as one of
themselves.
"The vessel was bound for America; but the poor animal did not live to
see that country, having fallen a victim to the brutality of the first
mate, who inflicted very cruel chastisement upon her, which she had not
deserved. She endured it with the greatest patience, only holding out
her hands in a suppliant attitude, in order to break the force of the
blows she received. But from that moment she steadily refused to take
any food, and died on the fifth day from grief and hunger. She was
lamented by every person on board, not insensible to the feelings of
humanity, who knew the circumstances of her fate."
The GIBBON;--a native of Sumatra, Borneo, and Malacca. The arms are of
immense length, and the hands and feet are formed for clinging to the
limbs of trees, where it throws itself from branch to branch with
surprising agility. The expression of the face is gentle, and rather
melancholy. There are many species, all of which utter loud cries.
_The nimble Gibbon, at the Zoological Gardens in London._--"This
specimen," says the editor of the Penny Magazine, "was a female, and
had been four years in captivity at Macao, previous to her arrival in
this country. On entering the apartment in which she was to be kept,
where a large space, and a tree full of branches, were allotted for her
accommodation, she sprang upon the tree, and, using her hands in
alternate succession, she launched herself from bough to bough with
admirable grace and address, sometimes to the distance of twelve or
eighteen feet. Her flight might be termed aerial, for she seemed
scarcely to touch the branches in her progress. It was curious to
witness how abruptly she would stop in her most rapid flight. Suddenly
as thought, she would raise her body, and sit quietly gazing at the
astonished spectators of her gymnastics.
"She possessed great quickness of eye; and apples, and other fruit,
were often thrown at her with great rapidity, but she always caught
them without an effort. On one occasion, a live bird was set at liberty
in her apartment. She marked its flight, made a spring to a distant
branch, caught the bird with one hand, on her passage, and attained the
branch with her other hand. She instantly bit off the head of the bird,
picked off its feathers, and threw it down, without attempting to eat
it.
"While exerting herself in feats of agility, the gibbon ever and anon
uttered her call-notes, consisting of the syllables _oo-ah_, _oo-ah_,
in a succession of ascending and descending semitones, during the
execution of which, the lips and frame vibrated. The tones were not
unmusical, but deafening, from their loudness.
"In disposition, this creature was timid, being apparently afraid of
men, but allowing women to come near her, and stroke her fur, and pat
her hands and feet. Her eye was quick, and she seemed to be perpetually
on the watch, scrutinizing every person who entered the room. After
exercising in the morning from three to four hours, she would, if
allowed, spend the rest of the day quietly on one of the branches."