Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1859-08-04
T1eSiorill;,.

The Gorilla.
In Dickens All the Year Round. we lin'
the following description of this animal
which is SAID to be thssmost closely allied
in structure, to the human torn of any o
the brute creation:
The gorllla is Of the average height o
man. five feet six inches. his brain case il
low and narrow, and, as the forepart of the
skull is high and there is very prominen,
ridge above the eyes. the top of the head is
perfectly Hat, and the brow, with its thicS
integument, forms scowling pent- house
over the eyes Couple with this a deep
lead-colored skin, much ~rinkled, promi.
nenl jaw with the canine teeth-in the
males-of huge size, . receding chin, and
we have an exscgera,'on of the lowest
and most forbidding type Of human physiog-
nomy. The neck is short. the head pokes
forward. The relative proportions of the
body and limbs ayssnearer those of man,
yet they are of more upgainly, aspect than
in any other of the brute kind. Long,
shapeless arms, thick and muscular, with
scarce any diminution of size deserving the
name OF wrist-fo at The smallest they are
fourteen inches round, while a strong mans
wrist is not above eight wide, :hick
hand. the palm loag and the fingers short,
swollen and gouty looking; capacious chest;
broad shoulders; legs also .hick and shape
less, destitute of calf anG very muscular.
yet short; hand-ike foot with a thumb to
it, "of huge dimensions and portentous
power of grasp" No wonder the lion
skuiks before this monster, and even the
elephant is baffl,d bv his malicious cunning,
activity and strength. The teeth indicate
vegetable diet, but the repast is sometimes
varied with eggs or brood of young birds.
The chief reason o. his enmity to the els-
phaDt appears to be. not that it ever inten
rionally Injuries him, but, merely, that it
shares his taste for certain favorite fruits
Aud when, from bis watch-tower in the
upper branches of tree, he parceives the
elephant he ping hisselfto these de!icacies,
he steals along the bough. and, striking its
sensitive prsboscis violent blow with the
club with which he is almost always arm
ed, drives off the startled giant, trumpet:ng
shrilly with rage and pain.
Toward the negroes the gorilla seems to
cherish an implacable hatred; he attacks
them quite uRprovoked. If party Of
blacks approach unconsciously within range
Of tree haunted by one of these wood
drmons-<wihging rapidly down to the
lower branches, he clutches, with his
thnmbei loot, at the nearest of them; his
green eyes fash with rage, his air stands
on end, and the skin abnye the eyes, drawn.
rapidly up and down. gives him fendish
scowl. Sometimes, during their excursions
in quest Of ivory in those gloomy forests,
the natives will irst discover the proximity
OF gorilla by the sudden. mysterious dis
appearance of Une OF their companions
The brute, angling for him with this horri-
Bile foot, dropped from a tree while his strong
arms grasp it firmly, stretches down his
huge hind-hand. seizes the hapess wretch
by the throat, draws him up into the boughs,
and, as soon as his struggles have ceased
drops him down, strangled CORPSE.
A tree is the gor,la's sleeping place by
night, his pleasant abode by day, ard his
cast of defense. From that coigne of
vantage he awaits his foe, should the latter
be hardy, or fool-hardy, enough to pursue
No fal-grown gorilla has ever been taken
alive A bold negro, the leader os an er-
phant hunting expedition. was offered u
hundred dollars for live gorilla. "If you
gave me the weight of yonaer hill in gold
| could not do it," he said.
Nevertheless. he has his good qualities
in domestic point of view; he is an amia-
BILE and exemplary husband and father,
watching over his young family with sffec-
iionate solicitude, and exertihg. in their de-
Tense, his utmost strength and ferocity.-
The mother shows that devotion to their
young in times OF danger. which is the most
universal of instincts.
The gorilla constructs himself a snug
hammock cut of the long, though, slender
stems ol parasitic plants, and lines it with
the broad dried tronds of pa Inns, or with
long grass-a sort Of bed surely not 10 be
despised-swung in the lea'y branches of a
:ree. By DAY he sits on bough leaning
his ba,k k against the trunk. owing to which
habit elderly gorill become rather bald in
lhose regions.