Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-08-15
THE BERLIN GORILLA.
His Arrival in LondOn--A Complete De-
ScriptiOn Of the Interesting Animal.

London Times.
whose reception in Berlin we quoted on
April IA a lively account from The
British Medical Journal arrived in Eng
land by the Hamburg steamer and was
taken to the Westminster Aquarium.
lie travelled under the care of DR..
Hermes, Director of the Berlin Aqua
rum. POngo is the first gorilla that
has been safely brought to Europe, and
he has now been thirteen months an in
habltant of temperate zone Even in
Africa the gorilla rarely lives long in
captivity. Mr.. Du Chaillu had three at
differ ent times, which were all taken
young, but he did not keep any 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 Prus-
sian Natural History Expedition to
Africa chained up in a village on the
Gaboon. Dr. Falkensteinbrought 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 eighteen months
before the dangerous period of
teething will begin He is three and
three fourths 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 tours, bending the
fingers in to do so as child does, there
is flat callous mass on the back of the
fingers near the middle phalanx When
he is pleased at being noticed, or wants
to be noticed, Pongo claps his hands
with a loud report, squatting on the
floor, and dropping his hands afterward
in his lap. Sometimes he wraps HIM
self in cloak he has, Or swings about
the room by the ropes Of a trapeze, but
does not climb them. He has for COM
panions 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 man than
that of any other ape, but the toes are
longer than mans, and better used
for grasping. Of course he has no tail.
He very seldom stands up like human
being, but his favorite position is to sit
on the floor and hug stick or an UNI
brella, and he is very pleased to be
trusted with an umbrella, although he
does not always desire the confidence,
because he has tendency to open it in
a new and expeditions way, and no
umbrella frame can resist his very great
muscular strength of arm and jaw. At 4
private reception which POngo held on
Saturday, Mr.. Frank Buckland tried to
teach him to write, but, although he did
make some marks on the paper, he
preferred to carry the pencil to his
mouth, and swallowed about an inch of
the best Cumberland lead Professor
Owen who described the gorilla in 1913,
Professor Mivart, and other gentlemen
and ladies, were among his visitors on
Saturday. When he obtained hat,
which he required by the easy process
of putting out his hand and taking the
first one he found, he drummed upon it
with apparent satisfaction, but then be-
gan to crush it from the crown. At
this stage the owner interviewed, and,
with the assistance of the German keep
er, got his property out Of the young
gorilla's powerful grasp. Pongo drank
half glass Of beer IN the presence OF
the audience, and also ate some roast
beef and potatoes, but ordinarily he
lives chiefly on vegetables, and makes
enormous meals of them In the morn
ing they give him milk and fruits, cher
ries, currants, raspberries, etc. At
midday he has basin of boiled rice,
and anything else that he can get. In
the course of the afternoon he has more
fruit, and, perhaps, some eau sucree or
wine and water. In the evening more
milk is brought, and this with bread
and butter and eggs, completes his sup
per. He goes to bed at s, and sleeps as
late as the next morning. 1t must be
remembered he is very young. But he
has learned to smoke-at least, when
the cigarette has an amber mouthpiece,
for he does not like the taste of tobacco.
He puffs out the clouds of blue smoke
from his wide nostrils. Two hundred
thousand people are said to have visited
him in Berlin since June %, 1876, and
he has grown in that period taller by
more than three inches and heavier by
eleven pounds. AS he has so early
learned to smoke and drink, it is hoped
that he may soon acquire the other
accomplishments which distinguish