Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1861-07-20
The Gorilla In his N ativs Wtlds.

The volume Of Adventures in Africa
just published in London by our country.
man, Du Challu, among other highly in
teresting descriptions Of life in Western
Africa, gives some graphic sketches of the
gorilla in his native wilds. Tho "What is
1t?' is a decidedly formidable fellow. We
give an extract relating his frs. expert.
ence with the gorilla:
Then the uuderbrush swayed rapidly
just ahead, and presently before Us stood
an immense male gorilla. He had gone
through the jungle on his all.fours, but
when he saw our party, he erected himself
and looked us boldly in the face. He
stood about dozen yards from US, and
was sight think shall never forget.
Nearly six feet high (he proved four inches
shorter with immense body, huge chest,
and great muscular arms, with fsrcely.
glating large, deep, gray eyes, and hell.
ish expression of face, which seemed to
me like some nightmare vision-thus stood
before us the king of the African forest.
"Hs was not afraid Of US. He stood
there and beat his breast with his huge
6sts till it resounded like arimmense bass
drum, which is their mode Of offering de-
fsnee, meantime giving vent to roar after
roar.
"The roar Of the gorilla is the most sin.
gular and awful noise heard in these Afri.
can woods. 1t begins with sharp bark.
like an angry dog, then glides into deep
bass roll, which literally and closely re-
sembles the roll Of distant thunder along
the sky, for which have sometimes been
tempted to take it whore did net see the
animal. So deep is it that it seems to
proceed less from the mouth and throat
than from the deep chest and vast paunch.
His eyes began to fash fiercer FIRE as
We stood mctionless on the defensive, and
The crest Of short hair which stands on his
forehead began to twitch rapidly up and
down, while his powerful fangs we're shown
as he again sent forth thunderous roar.
Aud now truly he reminded me of nothing
but some hellish dream creature-a being
Of that hidsous order, halfman, half.beast,
which We find pictured by old artists in
some representations Of tho internal re.
gions. lie advanced q few steps-then
stopped to utter .ha. hideous roar again
advanced again, and finally, stopped when
at about distance Of six yards from NJ.
And here, just as he began another of his
roars, beating his breast in rage, We fred
and killed him.
"With q groan which had something
terribly human in it, and yet was full Of
brutishncss, he fell forward on his face
The body shook convulsivsly for few mo.
ments, the limbs moved about in q strug'
Cling way, and then all was quiet-death
had done its work. and had leisure to
examine the hnge body. It proved to be
6ve feet eight inches high, and the mus.
cular developments Of the arms and breast
showed what immense strength it had
possessed.
On another occasion some natives bro't
him young gorilla alive. II cannot
says be, describe the emotions with which
I saw the struggling little brute dragged
into the village. All the hardships l had
endured in Africa we're rewarded in that
moment The little fellow was between
two and three years old, and two feet six
inches high, a gorilla gdmin, who was US
fierce and stubborn as his full grown rsla-
tives. The hunters had shot his mother,
and had secured the orphan by throwing q
cloth over his head while he was making
hostile demonstrations. AS the little
brute, though SO diminutive, and the me-
rest baby for age, was astonishingly strong
and by no means good tempered, they
could not lead him. He constantly rushed
at them. So they were obliged to get a
forked stick, in which his neck was inscrt-
ed in such way that no could not escape,
and yet coald be kept at q safe distance.
In this uncomfortable way he was brought
into the village Though he was thero
secured in hutch and every effort made
to tame him, he proved to be incurably
moross and i'll tempered, SO that We must
infer other that the gorilla babies are not
born good, Or that this one resented the
circumstances Of his capture. He escaped
twice-on the FIRST occasion getting into
Du Chaillu's apartment, where he exam
insd the furniture with evident surprise
and when the negroes threw net over
him he roarod, kicked and struggled, and
though held by four negroes, gave AS much
trouble as drunken Irishnan. ~ never
saw" says the writer, $50 furious beast
in nv life Is he was. He darted at every
| Ole who came near, bit the bamboes Of