Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1859-06-10
Tho Gorilla

/ 4 perfect specimen Of the Gorilla has
been secured and pat on exhibition in Ens.
land We may ~ we'll reply at onec to the
question Of Z" What II a Gorillh2' by sta
ting that IL is an animal that resembles
more nearly than any known creature tho
members of the human family; and there
+ /. thi. extriorlnary fact relative u IL, that
I IL has been accurately described upon sew
crll occasions bii1rJ It was seen, or was
even known to exist with piriect certainty.
Slme ten years sinci, traveller in the In
terror % Western AlricI, saw native tribe
wor.hippins what secmed to be a human
skull set upjn polo. The cdriosity OF the
traveller was excited. and with considerable
trouble he obtained pJ'.c',iin Of the IDOL.
and forwarded it To Prof. Owen for his
opinion respecting the natirs Of the animal
of which it had pnci l1rmsl part. Prof.
Oxen decided thlt il dl NJ; bilon; u any
of the ciImpintsi, or inii'i - any oi the
monkey tr,b,: that it wa- altogether un-
represented hy any specimen oi natural his
tory known h tho sclen,lG, world /; and the
learned Professor eulbpliei hIs view. upon
the suhfct in a vry inier-s,in; paper,
which hs read bef,rs the z,llpgieIi society.
At length. after rSir,,riintry .Srtlons.
an animal w,' cipturoi. AMI pl'ksi ina
c,.k %! spirits oi wine, dily arrived IN this
country, u i'w wa,ss since, anl Is lonnl u
clrr spind in t.,s ,Gmin its r''p's.. with
the description Of it BY Prof Owen.
The Gorilla Il, a native Of Western Africa.
and Is known t, exist in very gr,at numbers
IN ,he Gablon districts, whsrs they are the
mD.t formidable Of tho wild animal, or the
forest. Tho present specimen, which has
been most carefully skinned. under the di-
rccti,n OF Pruf. Owen. is rather more than
Eve feet in height. IL samile, and ksown
90 b. young by the state of it, te'th. and
the condition Of the suture, Of the skull.
The lore legs or armsare Of grst, leug,h and
Of prodisiOus strength, greatly surprising
that Of any human arm the hind les, are
comparatively short, and are well adapted
Cor tree climbing. In features the animal
is very nuah like a negro, and the orbits
over the eve ara very much projected. Tho
teeth are iorme'l almo,, prcciielyas IN man,
and unlike the monkey. chimplnzss or ou-
rius.ouiang. they are Of sr.At strength, and
in the skull which was first sint over 10 this
country, the clnin,s were nearly ~ large
and strong ~ ihos, OF - lion. The hair On
the upper par, of the head Ola Gorilla i'a
reddish brown; upIn the checks. the smooth
hair is OF a griylsh hue; thi hack is c1ver-
ell with dun. or mpu.e.c1lcrcd hair tho
hair upln tho arm. from the hail q tho
elbow. !. black. and grows upwards from tho
hand toward. the elbow. Tho chtst j. near
I ly bare. There were thirtsen wounds in
the body Of the ANIMAL, ani two ballets
were extracted frum il, one from wound
which had healed over.
The Gorilla had to all app,arincc died Of
starvation ; his b, dy was in a most emaeia-
ted condition, and his tongue was covered
with u thin white coating. as though caused
10y excessive fever. Il /, thought the wound
Indicted upon him prevented his bains able
to proeure the necessary supplies OF food.
These animals arc gresanous; and IL 10
stated " the natives that they frequently
appear in considerable fores. sack villages,
and carry away young children and deyour
them and farther. they have q very ugly
custom Of attacking men, and wreneh'ng
olT the heads OF those whom they attack.
II one Of these creatures Is fired a, or attack
ed. tie whole tribe come down TO the rescue,
aud escape from tho combined assault Is im-
possible. How Ear these statements may DO
correct. there is a, present. no means OF
knowing; but ills very certain. from the
formation Of the tooth. and the grea, power
of the animal. that it Is not vegetarian Ia
its habits. and that lie woald have no hesi.
,ation 10 deyourins any 0esh that might
chance to come IN his way.
London paper.
To per,eyere Is Ones dsty. and u DO sl-