Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-04-07
hatutal 4Histurg.
The GOriIIa.


neither elephant nor leopard. OF prodiqious
strength and dauutless courage, this " hairy
man Of the woods" is the terror of all lesser
brutes Traditions, preserved in old books Of
travel, and the unvarying reports Of native
Africans, had led the scientific writers of Eu.
rope to believe in the existence Of a species Of
gigantic ape, differing both in size and char
acter from the ourang-outang aud the Chin
panzcc. But nothing was definitely known Of
its nature and habits until the return Of Du
Chaillu, the renowned African traveller in
1860, from his explorations in equatorial
Africa, in the region lying between latitude
north and o south on the western coast.
The first white man 10 see the gorilla in its
native haunts, to hunt il and study lis habits,
his reports were received with incredulity
and derision. But the record Of his second
exploration has dispeled all doubt of his
yeracity snd as he succeeded in sending
home several stuffed gorillas and numerous
Skeletons he has now established his claim
to the honor Of introducing this creature to
the practical knowledge Of civilized man.
Du Chaillu's first encounter with the gorilla
is one Of the best told Of his stories of adj.
venture with wild beasts
" Suddenly he writes, as we were vet
creeping along" this was in dense and al.
most impcnctrablc forest in the country Of
the Fans, a tribe Of negro cannibals, " tho
woods were at once filed with the trcmend-
Gus barking roar Of the gorilla. lie 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, lie stood
about dozen yards from u.s. 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 6ercely-garing, deep.
gray eyes and hellish expression of face
which seemed to me like some nightmare
vision. Thus stood before Us this king Of
the African forest lie was not afraid of US
He stood there and beat his breast with hi.
huge fist till it resounded ike an immense
bass drum, which is their mode of offering
defiance, meanwhile giving vent to roar after
roar. The roar Of the gorilla is the most
singular and awful noise heard in these Af
rican woods. 1t begins with a sharp bark
like an angry dog, then glides into deep
bass roll, which literally and closely rcsem.
bles the roll Of distant thunder along the
sky, for which | have sometimes been tempt.
cd to take it when | did not see the animal
So deep is it that it seems less from the mouth
and throat than from the deep chest and
vast paunch
" His eyes began to fash fiercor fire as W,
stood motionless on the defensive, and tn,
crest of short hair which stands Oh his fore
head began to twitch rapidly up and down
while his powerful iangs were shown as h,
again set forth a thunderous roar And now
truly, he reminded me Of nothing but som,
hellish dream creature, beirg Of that hide
Gus order, half man half beast, which we fine
pictured by old artists in some representation
Of the internal regions He advanced few
steps, then stopped to utter that hideous roa
again, advanced again, and finally stoppeC
when at a distance of about six yards from
us. And here, just as he began another o
his roars beating his breast in rage, We fire,
and killed him. With groan which hat
something terribly human in it, and yet wa
full Of brutishness, he fell forward on hi
face"
Africans, in hunting the gorilla, never fire
As it is found only in denser parts Of the for
est, where the glare of tropical sun i
changed into twilight gloom and as tn,
thick underwood prevents them from taking
true aim at distance, they wait until it 4
so near that their shot will certainly be fatal
for, as they say if you don't kill il, it will b.
sure to kin you 1t dies easily-as easily a
"a man; but woe to the hapess hunter VIII
misses it, or only wounds it. The enrage,
brute advances, and with a single blow Of hi
hand dashes out his brains, or tears out hi
bowels Du Chaillu had an adventure o
that kind in hunting the gorilla. One Of hi
native guides went before him. Suddenl,
they heard two reports Of guns, aud rushe,
forward, expecting to see a dead gorilla
But as they heard the roar of the monsto
follow the reports their joyful eagerness CAV
way to a sickening alarm;
J." The poor, brave fellow who had gone Of
alone was lying on the ground in a pool O
his own blood, and | thought at first quit
dead. His bowels were protruding throug
the lacerated abdomen Beside him lay hi
gun. The stock was broken, and the barre
was bent and flattened. 1t bore plainly Tia
marks of the gorrilla's teeth. We picke
him up, and | dressed his wounds as well a
| could with rags torn from clothes Whei
| had given him little brandy to drink h
came to himself, and was able, with grea
difficulty, to speak. He said that he had me
the gorilla suddenly and face to face, an
that it had not attempted to escape. 1t was
he said, huge male, and seemed very savage
1t was in gloomy part of the wood, and tn
darkness, | suppose, made him miss. II
said he took good aim and fred when tn
beast was only about eight yards off Tn
ball merely wounded it in the side. 1t a
once began beating its breast, and with tn
greatest rage advanced upon him. To ru
away was impossible; he would have bee
caught in the jungle before he had gone
dozen steps He stood his ground, and a
quickly as he could, reloaded his gun. Ju.
as he raised ii to FIRE the gorilla dashed
out of his hands, the gun going off in the fall
and then, in an instant, and with a terribl
roar, the animal gave him tremendous blo'
with its immense open paw, frightfully lace
rating the abdomen, and with this single blo'
laying bare part of the intestines. AS h
sank bleeding to the ground the monster seii
cd the gun, and the poor hunter thought h
would have his brains dashed out with i
But the gorilla seemed to have looked upo
this also as an enemy, and in his rage almo'
hattened the barrel between his strong jaws
. This is their mode of attack--to strik
one or two blows, and then leave the victim
of their rage on the ground and 20 off int
the woods. The poor fellow died"
The gorilla is strict vegetarian, and a
enormous eater. Hence it is forced to wande
constantly in order to find in its fayorite haunt
the lowliest and densest part of the jungl
"a sufficient supply of food. One Of its It'd
bits is a nut with shell so hard that stron
blow of heavy hammer is required to brea
it. The gorilla has enormous strength {
jaw, and finds no difficulty in crushing thi
nut with its teeth
The gorilla is not gregarious. Seldom NOR
than three or four are seen in company, an
they are generally females. While its yOunt
and occasionally its females, climb up tree
for protection, the male sleeps at the bottoI
with his back against the tree, ready to fgh
all comers in defence of his family.