The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-08-06
OUT in THE WILDS.
A Sailors Adventure With a Gorilla.

Once upon a time, as the primer books
say, while trading on the western coast
of Africa, in the equatorial region, I ran
my vessel about twenty miles up one Of
the rivers in that vicinity, and remained
there several weeks, having a very profit
able intercourse with some of the inland
tribe of natives. A portion Of my leisure
time / spent in hunting through the thick
woods and dark jungles for which that
coast region is famous, and it was on one
Of those excursions that I first met a liv-
ing gorilla.
S MY guide was a native Of the cannibal
species, black, low-browed, thick-skulled,
and but little removed from the brute ami
NAL himself. He could make himself
understood, however, knew the country
we'll, and stood in such salutary awe of
the wonderful white man, that I felt per-
fectly safe in trusting myself with him
far beyond the reach Of friends, and in
places where I would not have ventured
with any single n Of my country men.
One day we had thus ventured of: into
one of the deepest recesses Of one Of the
darkest and. most tangled Of jungles,
where the spreading branches and leaves
were so thick and dense that scarcely a
ray of the vertical sun could find it's way
down through them to the damp, malari-
GUS earth beneath, when suddenly we
were both startled by a succession of the
widest and most discordant shrieks I !
had ever heard-though with something
human in the sound-accompained by the
irustling Of and plunging through the
bushes ahead Of us as if the creature,
whatever, it was, was hurriedly making
it's escape. s'"''.'' - 'aAH' '-."@.
At the first sound we both stopped
the black trembling, frightened, and as
white as the nature Of his skin would per-
mit-and cooking my double -barreled
rifle, I stood on the defensive, and at the
same. time anxiouslY inquired what it
was. '.'' N$I ''f* - @:|3 .f
My guide replied in broken English,
that he had picked up in his intercourse
with white traders, that it was a terrible
gorilla, and that unless we turned back
at once, and made good u retreat, we
should probably never have the pleasure
of seeing our friends again. " -
/ had before heard some rather marvel
| GUS accounts of an animal so called, and
said to bear a close resemblance to man,
and l naturally felt a hunters desire to
see with my own eyes, and, if possible,
add the skin of it to my collection of GU
riosities. Therefore I was rather in IA
vor of going forward than back, believ-
ing that my steadiness of nerve, quick
ness Of sight, and reliability of my two
loaded barrels, would be sufficient to pro-
tect me from actual harm, to say moth
ing OF the assistance in a strait Of my
companion, who was armed with a spear
that he could throw with the force and
precision Of an old h%arpooner. =
"Can't think Of turning back for a mere
gorilla, that has been frightened at our
approach as to have fled away shrieking,'
said I, in a cool tone Of contempt, intend
ed to reassure my guide and induce him
to 60 forward. "What, two brave hun
tiers, armed as we are, to run away from
a beast that roams the forest-we who
have killed the big snake. the leopard and
the crocodile! Pshaw, Mocha! that will
do-never, lad!' .3
ode snake, him big replied Mocha,
with his teeth almost chattering, and his
eyes glazing upon the thickets all around
him ode leopard, him sabage; de croc'-
ollie, him bigger: but de gorilla-oo-oo-
oof! him awful" .h". r" z1-i'
"But we have not seen any gorilla YETI
said I; 'and if that animal that ran
away was one,l we are not likely to,
either.' sos" .<i "|t"61E2f" "l'
01"Him, woman run-him man STOP
fght-him debil, master" ."l' @t~
"&"Well, man, woman, or anything else
Mocha, Z must see something before I sc
back frightened" - 4
'"Master him see no go back-him gori
kill master" & q &1''4n1 "@% .5i''- .". (
had by this time made up my minl
to 20 forward through the thicket, ever
if Ijwent alone; and ordering Mocha, il
a tone that admitted Of no question: t.
keep at my heels, as he valued his life,
resolutely advanced a few PAGES though
if truth must he told, not half so courage
GUS in feeling as I seemed in action
~ But at the end of those few PAGES
came to another sudden stand, for I saw
!, a denser tliicket some fifteen or twent.
yards ahead, agitated by the moving o
some heavy body within it, while almos
: Immediately there appeared, in fplai1
, view, a monster of such hideous appear
aancce tina. I felt the blood freeze through
my veins and gather about my heart, a
: if appalled, by some horrible visitant iron
; the other world. ..N&f51o> 72G eifE ~
/ My powers of description are limited
$ but hadI the language ola Milton or
Y Dante, I could only hope to convey t
Il your minds a faint idea of the hideout
ness of the living creature that now stoo
before me; as to its voice-its tones {
warning, anger, and efance-Ik know nc
! to what they can be likened, unless 20
can imagine the bark Of a dog, the grow
of a tiger, the snarling Of a wolf, tn
k trumpeting of an elephant, all unite
If and combined with sulphurous vomiting
it from the regions of Pandemonium.
e In shape, he was like q man, but like
u man deformed-with a monstrous bi
chest and body, small head planted dow
ii between. his shoulders, large, long arm
1T and huge, hands, and short thick bow-les
terminating in hands instead of fec
q He stood erect like a man, was nearly 81
es feet in height, and was covered all owe
e face and all, with short black hair. 81
"a head was small in proportion to his bod
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