Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-07-03
Selette0 MlistelIanp.
Tne CoriIIa i'm ni. native wiIds.

- q QectQcOly IOrmluaDle IeiiOW. we give
an extract relating his first experience with the
gorilla:
Then the underbrush 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 erect
ed himself and looked rs boldly IN the face be
stood about a dozen yards from US and was sight
/ think shall never forget Nearly six feet high
(ne proved four inches shorter,) with immense
body, huge chest, and great muscular arms, with
fercely glarirg. large, deep gray eyes, and hell
ish expression of face, which seemed to me like
some nightmare yision-thus stood before US this
king of the African forest.
ssHe was not afraid of US. He stood there and
beat his breast with his huge fists till It resounded
like an immense bass drum, which is their mode
of offering defiance. meantime giving vent to roar
after roar.
'sThe roar of the gorilla is the most singular
and awful noise heard in these African woods.
II begins with sharp bark, like an angry dog,
then glides into deep bass roll, which literally
and closely resembles the roll of distant thunder
along the sky for which / have sometimes been
tempted to take it where did not see the animal.
So deep is il that it to proceed less from the
mouth and throat than from the deep chest and
vast paunch.
His eyes began to fash fercer fire we stood
motioness 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
were shown as he again sent forth a thunderous
roar. And now truly he reminded me of nothing
but some hellish dream creatnre-a being OF that
hideous order, hall man, half beast, which we
find pictured by old artists in some representa-
tions of the internal regions He advanced few
steps-shen stopped to utter that hideous roar
again-advanced again, and finally stopped when
at distance of about six yards from And
here, Just as he began another of his roars, beat
ing his breast in rage, we fred and killed him.
with a groan which had something terribly
human in il and yet was full of brutishness, he
fell forward on his face. The body shook con
vulsvely for a few minutes. the limbs moved
about in a struggling way, and then all was quiet
death had done its work, and had leisure to
examine the huge body. Il proved to be five
feet eight inches high, and the muscular devel-
opment of the arms and breast showed what i'm
mense strength it had possessed"
Subsequently to this Du Chaillu saw female
gorilla sucking her infant, and, the mother hav-
ing been shot, he endeavored to rear the little
one, but without success, as he had no food forit
He remarks that this seemed more docile than
the other, and in fact. it is premature to conclude
as vet that if the gorilla is caught insufficienty
young he is altogether beyond the influence Of
humanity. There is skeleton of the Caucasian
man on page $40. who is pointing rather con-
temptuously at his gorilla companion, but it is
as estimated by the superior anatomy, are not at
present little exaggerated The writer just re-
fers to these psrplexing questions, which are now
the province of rival physiologists- He has one
chSpter on the anthropoid apes of Africa, and an
other on the bony structure OF the gorilla and the
cognate species, which is accompanied by the
symmetrical skeleton so superior in its own con-
ceit. After summing up the osseous peculiarities
upon both sides, he comes to the conclusion that
there is dissimilarity between the bony frame
of man and that of the gorilla, but that there is
also, he says, can atcful Likeness which in the
gorilla resembles an exaggerated caricature of a
human being" Moreover, to such an extent is
it evident that he was impressed by the native
stories, that he mentioned that he searched con-
tinually to ascertain whether intermediate race,
rather several intermediate races or links, between
the natives and the gorilla might not be found
As he could get no nearer to man than the gorilla
himself-that is to say, as no intermediate Iela-
tives were forthcoming, we admit that Du Chail-
LUIS human skeleton has so far reason for com
placency that, if his ungainly companion is con-
nected with him in any degree, a cousin 30 very
distant can hardly expect to be acknowledged al
this time of day and in the presence of good So
ciety.
On another occasion some natives brought him
Young gorilla aliue 81 can not saws he ode
scribe the emotions with which saw the strug.
Cling little brute dragged into the village. All
the hardships / had endured in Africa were re-
varded in that moment. The little fellow was
between two and three years old, and two feetsi1
inches high. a gorilla gamin, who was as fierce
and stubborn as his full grown relatives. The
hunters had shot his mother, and had secured the
orphan BY throwing a cloth over his head while
he was making hostile demonstrations. As the
little brute though so diminutive, and the meres
baby for age, was astonishingly strong. and by nc
means good tempered, they could not lead him
uo lv lad at Wprs
obliged to get forked stick, in which his necl
was inserted in such way that he could not es
cape, and yet could be kept at a safe distance
In this uncomfortable way he was brought int
the village" Though he was there secured in
hutch and every effort made to tame him, h,
proved to be incurably morose and ill-tempered
so that must infer either tb.t the gorilla babie
are not born good, or that this one resented tn
circumstances of bis capture. He escaped twice
on the first occasion getting into Du Chaillu'
apartment, where he examined the furniture witt
evident surprise; and when the negroes threw
net over him he roared, kicked and struggled
and, though held by four negroes, gave as mucl
trouble as drunken Irishman. II never" say
the writer, "saw 50 furious beast in my life a
he was. He darted at every one who came nea
him, bit the bamboos of the house, glared at u
with venomcus and sullen ewes, and in every mo
tion showed temper thoroughly wicked and ma
licious." He at once appreciated any arrange
ment for mis- comfort. but without exhibiting an
signs of reconciliation to those who tended hin
In fact the ungrateful little rufhan died after
few weeks captivity, and finally treated his guar
dian as the obstinate pauper treated Bumble.
Respecting the history of the man monster,
is observed that Hanno and his Carthagnian CON
rades, in the course of their periplus about tn
coast Of Africa, found certain wild and hairy me
and women who bore the name of gorila, an
who were certainly monkeys of some sort; an
being unable on account of their excessive vic
lence to retain some of the women whom the
captured, they killed them and carried their Skin
TO Carthage. where they were hung up curio
tiles in the Temple of Juno. The presumptio
is that these may have been the ancestors of tl
very brutes whom DuChaillu found lording
over creation in the African forests, but the Writ
interposes some reasons for conceiving they wei
chimpanzees. The e reasons, if We had space,
would be possible to combat, while on the 9TH
side the identity of name is strong ground f
believing that the Punic navigators were face
face with the true gorillas some $500 years bacl
though the swarthy race who succumbed to Scip
were no match for creatures who could ha,
cracked the bones of Scipio like biscuit
fact, gunpowder is the only protection again
gorilla ascendancy in the unascertained limits
their tropical domain, and if the hunter does M
shoot his antagonist at once, his gun is broke
ike reed and his hunting days summari
ended. This volume contains a picture of Il
catastrophe which befel one Of DuChaillu's part
and which is significant of the powers of this il
teresting monster, whose gigantic body and e,
cessive strength are proved still more satisfact
rily by the specimens now exhibiting at the G.
ographical Society in London.
But the most important discovery of NJ. d
Chaillu in this quarter was that of nest buildir
ape, or rather an ape who erects shelter over h
head; his head being bald, and his species not ha'
inp vet attained the art of making wigs The di