The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1866-07-21
The Eseath Of the Gorilla.


The capture of an infant gorilla is thus graph
icaliy described by Du Chaiilu
On the l4th of May l had one OF the great
est pleasures Of my whole life. Some hunters
who had been out on my account brought IN Il
Young gorilla alive. | cannot describe the emo
tons with which | say the struggling little brute
dragged into the village; all the harGshIps | had
endured in Africa were rewarded in that moment
Ii WAS IA liuie fellow OF between two and three
wears old. TWO feet SIX inches in length, and as
fierce and stubborn as q grown animal could nave
been.
BY the hunters account. they were gong, i've
in number. t. ii village near the coast, and walk
ing very silently through the forest. when they
heard what they immediately recognized as the
cry OF a young gorilla for its mother. The forest
wa silent. Ii was about noon and they lmule-
diateiv determined to follow the cry. Presently
they heard il again. Gun IN hand, the brave
fellows crept uoi>eltsSly toward a ciump OF wood,
where the baby gorilla evidently was. lhey
knew the mother would be near. and there was Il
likelihood that the male. the most dreaded q all.
might be there. too. But they determined to
risk all. and, if AZ all possible. Ia take the young
one alive. knowing what Il ly It would be Tor me.
Presently they perceived tie bush moving, and
crawling a little further on in dead silence, scarce
breathing with excitement, they 5eheld what has
seldom been seen, even by the negroes, a young
gorilla. seated ON the ground, eating some berries
that grew close t. the earth. y few feet further
on sat the mother. also eating of the same fruIt.
Instantly they made ready TO FIRE. and none too
soon, for the old female saw them as they raised
their guns, ami they had to pull triggers without
DELAY. Happily, they wounded her m~ortallv,
and she fell. The young one, hearing the noise
of the gun, ran u his mother, hiding his face,
and embracing her body. The hunters immedi-
atelv rushed toward the two. hallooiHg with joy
as they ran on. But this reused the little one.
who instantly let - his mother, and ran to Il
small tree, which be climbed with agility, where
he sat and roared at them Savagely. They were
BOW p~crplexed how to grt at them no one cared
TO run the chance of being bitten by the savage
little beast. and shoot it they would not. vt
last they cut down the tr-c, and aS 1T fell, dexter
ously threw n cloth over the head of the young
monster. and thus gained time TO secure 1t while
il was blinded. With all these precautions, one
of them received 4 severe bite on the hand, and
another had "A piece taken out of his leg.
As the little brute, though 50 diminutive, and
the merest baby for age. was aStuniShingly strong,
and by no means good tempered, they could not
lead him. lie constantly rushed at them, 50
they were obliged u get 4 forked stick, in which
his neck was inserted in such a way that he could
not escape, and yet could be kept at Il safe dis
lance. In this uncomfortable way he was brought
into the village, where the excitement was intense.
As the animal was lifted out of the canoe in
which he had come a little way down the river,
he roared and beloved, and looked around wildly
with his wicked little eyes. giving fair warning
that if he could only 9 at some OF us, he would
take his revenge.
saw that the stick hurt his neck. and | inn
medlateiy set about having a cage made Tor him.
In two hours we built Il strong bamboo house,
with the stats securely tied at such Il distance
apart that W. could see the gorilla, and it could
see out. Here the thing was Immediately de-
posted, and now, for the first time, | had Il fair
chance u examine my prize. 1t was a young
male gorilla, evidently not yet three years cid,
fully able to walk alone, and possessed for it's
age, of most extraordinary strength and muscu-
lar development. Its greatest length proved after
ward to be two feet six inches. Its face and
hands were very black eyes not so much sunken
as in the adults. The hair began at the eyebrows
and rose to the crown, where it was Il reddish
brown. 1t came down the sides of the face in
lines to the lower law-much as our boards grow.
The upper lip was covered with short, coarse
hair The lower lip had longer hair. The eyelids
were very slight and thin eyebrows straight,
and three-quarters OF an inch long.
Du Chai!lu. having Gagged his prisoner, sought
to make friends with it. This, however, the cap
tive seemed to regard us adding insult to injury.
lt retreated sullcniy, roaring, To the furthernoSt
corner of its prison, and, when its amicahle laileT
approached to reas,ure it. dhrted at his legs, and,
despite a nimble retreat, succeeded in catching
Du Chaiilu's trowsers in his terrible grip. and
tearing Il piece ont
\ cup of water and some forest berries We're
procured for the prisoner, and when the COM
Tany had retired out of sight lie condescended To
take his dinner. On the second day, however,
he was even more vindictive and outrageous than
the first. No one could 90 near his cage without
he roared and leapt, and mouthed, as though
nothing short Of rending his enemies to little bits
would ever paci.y him. Food was thrust be-
tween the bars OF his cage to no purpose he
would neither eat nor drink, and met all id
vances with most Obstinate contempt.
On the fourth day he managed to gnaw his
bars asunder, and the prison was discovered
empty. The utmost conservation prevailed in
the camp. the hands were called together, and a
reca pturing expedition resolved on. However.
the cunning Joe $50 Du Chaillu chri>tened him)
had not strayed lar. Returning t. his room To
fetch Il gun, ii terrible, unearthlv, vet to the
explorers ears delicious. growing emanated from
beneath the hedstead. and there was Master Joe
Gorilla crOuched down and regarding his master
with an unmiStakuble : t~Ouch-me-it you dare -
expression.
How To take him WAS a puzzling question. He
had shown such strength and such a rage already
that not even | cared to run the chance of being
bitten in Il hand hand struggle. Mainline
Joe stood in the middle of the room. looking
about for his enemies. | dispatched some fell
lows for a net, and, waiting till he became quiet,
opened the door quickly and threw the net over
his head; fortunately We succeeded at the first
throw in fatally entangling the young monster,
roared frightfully, and struck and kicked in
every direction, under the net. | took hold of
the back of his neck, two men seized his arms
and another the legs: and thus he'd by four men,
extraordinary little creature still proved
most troublesome. We carried him as quickly
rs we could to the cage, which had been repaired,
and locked him IN.
Poor Joe, however, died soon after, and this
attempt to bring a living gorilla to Europe
pr this country failed.
M. = = . N