The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1861-10-10

THE following interesting extracts are token from a new work
b. Paul Du ChaiIiz, the diseVverer Of the GORILLA
MY FIRST GORILLA.
Suddenly, as we were yet creeping along. in q
silence which made a heavy breath seem loud and
distinct, the woods were 1T once filled with the
tremendous barking roar of the gorilla. Then
the underbrush swayed rapidly just ahead, and
presently before Us stood an immense male gorilla.
lie had gone through the Jungle on his ~all-fOurs {:
but when he saw our party he erected himself and
looked as boldly in the face. He stood about a
dozen yards from US. and was a sight, | think,
never to forget. Nearly six feet high, (he proved
two inches shOrter,) with immense body, huge
chest, and great muscular arms, with fercely-
glaring, large, deep gray eyes, and a hellish ex-
preston of face, which seemed to me like some
nightmare vision thus stood before US this king
Of the African forests. He was not afraid of US.
tie 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 mean
time giving vent to roar after roar. The roar of
the gorilla il the most singular and awful noise
heard in these African woods. 1t begins with a
sharp bark like an angry dog, then glldes into a
deep bass roll, which literally and closely resem-
bles the roll of distant thunder along the sky, for
which | have sometimes been tempted to take it
where I did not see the animal. So deep Is it
that IL seems to proceed less from the mouth and
throat than from the deep chest and vast paunch.
His eyes began to flash fercer fire a. we stood
mDtfcslieSS % IN ucltuslNe, IL vi SHUT
hair which stands on his forehead began to twitch
rapidly up and down, while his powerful fangs
were shown rs he again sent forth Il thunderOus
roar. And now, truly, he reminded me of no
thing bat some hellish dream creature-a being
of that hideous order. half man. half beast,
which we find pictured by old artists in some re-
presentations of the Internal regions. lie adj
yanced 4 few steps-then stopped TO utter that
hideous roar again-advanced again, and finally
stopped when at a distance of about six yards
from US And here rs he began another of his
roars and beating his breast IN a rage, we fired
and killed him. With n grOan which had some
thing terribly human in il. and yet was full of
brutisl1ness. it fell forward on its face The body
shook convulsively for 4 few minutes. the limbs
moved about in a struggling way, and then all
was quiet-death had done it's work. and | had
leisure to examine the huge body. Ii proved to
be five feet ten inches high. and the muscular
deveIopement of the arms and breast showed
what immense strength it had possessed.
DARING ELEPHANT HUNTER.
Ogouia has the reputation of being the greatest
hunter of elephants in all the country about here.
As he could speak MpOngwe, he told me some of
his adventures, which proved, indeed, that he was
a daring and expert fellow. Going out to the
hunt one day he met two elephants. Being alone,
he had carried but one gun. and would have re-
treated and watched for a safer chance; but the
great beasts saw him and did not give him Oppor-
tunity. He was obliged to make a stand, and
LlklnR gOOU Iln, kIllcu Ont elcpDdDt. ODIOEIu-
nately il was the female, and the male seeing its
partner fall, Immediately rushed at him. He
turned to retreat, and caught his foot in a trail
ing vine. The more he struggled the less he got
loose, and meantime his pursuer was tearing down
everything in its way. and was almost on top of
him when ne got his foot loose, and in despera-
tion swung himself into a young sapling which
stood at hand. Scarce had he done this when
the elephant, trumpeting with rage. was beneath
him. Tie seized the slpling with his trunk, and
swayed it violently back and forth, determined to
pull it down. But as it swung on one side,
Ogouia nimble through desperation, was able TO
catch ut another which stood near, and when the
elephant seized this he gave himself a great
swing, and caught the Out-stretched branch of 4
huge full-grown tree, climbing to a safe height,
in which he could afford to laugh at the vain rage
of his enemy.
IN UNwELCoHE BEDFELLOw.
j wandered about the town the rest of the day
watching the lazy negroes, and did not return 10
my house till after dark. / struck a match and
set fire to a torch to go to bed by; and casting
my eyes about To see If anything had been dis
turbed, noticed something glittering and shining
under my akoko or low bamboo bedstead. | did
not paw much attention to the object, which did
not seem important by the dim light of the torch,
till, just as L approached the bed TO arrange it, |
saw that the glitter was produced by the shining
scales of an enormous serpent which lay quietly
eoiled up there within two feet of me. My first
motion was TO retreat behind the door then |
bethought me to kill it. But unfortunately my
two guns were set against The wall back of the
bed, and the snake was between me and them.
As I stood watching and thinking what TO do,
keeping the doorway fairly in my rear for a speedy
retreat, i noticed that my visitor did not move,
and finally mustered up courage to creep along
the floor to the bedside and quickly grasp one gun.
Happily it was loaded very heavily with large
shot. 1 placed the muzzle fairly against one of
the coils of the serpent, fired, and then ran out.
At the report there was an instant rush of ne
groes from all sides eager TO know what was the
They thought some one had shot a man, |