The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-08-30
The Berlin Gorilla In London.

ON thursday the young gorilla arrived
in England from Berlin by the Hamburg
steamer, and was taken to the West
minister Aquarium. He travelled under
the care of DR.. Hermes, director of the
Berlin Aquarium. .Pongo is the first
gorilla that has been safely brought to
Europe, and he has now been thirteen
months an inhabitant of the temperate
zone. Even in Africa the gorilla rarely
lives long in captivity. Mr.. DuChaillu
had three at different times, which were
all taken young, but he did not keep any
one of them more than = few days or
weeks. Pongo (whose name is that by
which Battel, an early traveller, in 1929,
called the gorilla species) was found by
the Russian Natural History Expedition
to Africa chained up in village on the
Gaboon. DR.. Falkenstein brought him to
Berlin and sold him for 10000 marks to
the Berlin Aquarium.
He is about three years and ten months
old, and is believed to have about eigb-
teen months before him before the danger
GUS period of teething will begin. He is
three and three quarter feet in height, of
great girth round the chest and stomach,
is covered with black or iron-gray hair,
and has coal black face, feet and hands.
The hands are the most strikingly human
part of the animal, but as he usually
walks on all fours. bending the fingers in
to do so as a child does, there is q flat
callous mass on the back of tho fingers
near the middle phalanx. When he is
pleased at being noticed or wants to be
noticed, Porgo claps his hands with q
loud report, squattihg on the floor, and
dropping his hands afterward in his lap.
Sometimes he wraps himself in cloak he
has, or swings about the room by the
ropes of trapeze, but does not climb
them. He has for companions little
chimpanzee and dog, and is much the
least active, although far the strongest OF
the party. His foot is more like the foot
Of q man than that of any other ape, but
the toes are longer than o mans and better
used for grasping. OF course he has nc
tail. He very seldom stands up Ike q
human being, but his favorite position is
to sit on the floor and hug stick or an
umbrella, and he is very pleased to be
trusted with an umbrella. although he
does not always deserve the confidence
because he has q tendency to open it in .
new and expeditions way, and no umbrel
la frame can resist his very great muscular
strength of arm and jaw.
At q private reception which POngo held
on Saturday, Mr.. Frank auckland tried
to teach him to write; but, although ht
did make some marks on the paper, HI
preferred to carry the pencil to his mouth
and swallowed about an inch of the bes
Cumberland lead. Prof. Owen, who de-
scribed the gorilla in 1848, Prof. Mivart
and other gentlemen and ladies were amonl
his visitors on Saturday. When he OBJ
tanned a hat, which he acquired by tn,
easy prucess of putting out his hand an(
taking the first one he found, he drummet
upon it with great apparent satisfaction
but then began to crush it in from tn,
crown. At this stage the owner inter
vened, and with the assistance of the Ger
voune e roriii.ss powerful we grasp. 0'' "
Poneo drank half q glass Of beer in tn,
presence Of the audience, and also at
some roast beef and potatoes; but ordi
narily he lives chiefly on vegetables, ami
morning they give him milk and fruits
cherries, currants. raspberries etc. A
midday he has basin of boiled rice, o
anything else that he can get. In tn
course Of the afternoon he has some NOR
HuAts auuS P1IAak0S oOm0 cUW SuOSW
wine and water. In the evening NOR
milk is brought, and this, with bread ami
butter and eggs, completes his supper
He goes to bed at eight O'Clock and sleep
as late as eight O'Clock the next morning
It must be remembered he is very young
But he has learnt to snaoke-at least whel
the cigarette has an amber mouth piece
for he does not like the taste of tobacco
He puffs out the clouds of blue smok
from his wide nostrils. Two hundre,
thousand people are said to have visite'
him in Berlin since June %, 1876, and b
has grown in that period taller by NOR
than three inches, and heavier by eleve'
pounds.
Az he has 30 early learned both to smok
and drink. it is hoped that he may sool
acquire the other accomplishments which
Distinguish civilization.-London Times