The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-12-31
ORAHG-O
The Big Group In Central Park-"Iife
in the Tree Tops.
New York Avening Mai

The American museum of natural history
in Central park has just come into possession
of a highly interesting group Of Orang.ou.
a., Ts, just arrived from Bornao via Professor
ws-,"s establishment at Rochester. -Four
.sosys AZ, . the professor dispatched one OF his
so,ro ustA raliats, Mr.. VIM. T. Hornaday on
tour to Ind,. for elephants asd tigers and
n Borneo for ,9acimens of the orAng.ou.
tssg, a rare anin>. then almost impossible
TO obtain at any price. The wonderful fam
ily group in the American l1useum is part
of the result Of the mission. r. four months
the hunter and his native guides cruised up
sSd down the rivers of Northern bornes,
waded the dark and gloomy swamps day stssr
dsy, swan rivers, lived in Dyak huts and
braved the dangers Of the deadly malaria, TO
come cut ut last With tho finest series of
orang outang specimens = forty.tbree in
number-ever collected. The efforts Of the
Young hunter naturalist were crowned with
unexpected success, and the series Of speci.
mems included orsag outangs of all sges and
sizes; several old males of both species larger
than the largest aver found before; femslas
Of every aizs, and several with very Young
infants.
The group in tho American museum is in.
tended to show the various stages of ersng
life, frsm the W'de-eyod, clumsy little Lsby'
three months old, to tho burly old male Of
the largest sizo, with arms and hands like
sable giant. II is composed Of FIVE spoci.
mems ia all two males, two females and q
baby.
The central figure &c no -roup is the
larger and older male, aTi4o.uy the father
of the family, who is hanging by bis left leg
and arm TO stout trea, while his right ara
is reaching outward and downward to slyy
snatch green fruit from the foot Of the old
female, wac hsngG from another tree on bis
right. He is as large as good
sized man. weighing when killed
one hundred and forty pounds, but in
stature be is rather deficient, sinca no stood
only 4 feet three inches in height. His logs
are very short aad thick and his foot il more
like hursan hand, being provided with
long fnger-lka tees, quite as capable Of
of graapin ms the baud itslf The body
iS very broad and hGsyy, tho 'stom-
sch round ard full, and on the
breast the loose skin of the neck hangs in
a happy fold The arms sRd hends ara Of
great length and FLA " su tain the weight
of the elormou, body, in pacing from Tree
to tree, their stretch being fully seven and
one-half feet. We're the snimGl to stand
erect the hands would reach down midway
between tbs knse and ankle. The hand Of
the orang is strangely human like; indeed
it idquite as perfect as our own, only mod
fled in certain features by force Of circsm-
stances.
The head and face is the most curious part
Of this slrasgs animal. Tho hesd is very
large, and is set SO squsrely down upon the
shoulders that tho snim,l appears to have nc
neck at all. The flssh Of each cheek from
ABOVE the ear to the angle sf the jaw is ex-
pSlded into a wide, fat DIX four inches il
width, making the face quite round inoutline
and measuring thirteen and one-hAfinches il
diameter across the nose These strsne,
cheek csloaties are peculiar to the male
only Of this species, and seem TO have beer
given them by nature As purely ornamsntA
ch'rsctsristlcs of the sex, as thsy sSrvs ri
useful purpose AID are not controlled b.
voluntary muscles The loaer part Of th
Orang's face projsess-fsr forward, in hemi
sphere, through tho centre of which is Gu
the wide, expansive nOuth, snd in the top ar
tive smsll holsl in deep hollow which repre-
sent the nose. The eyes are very small, of
chestnut brown color, aud far apart. 10 thi
old msle they are eirectsd downward to th
fruit, which is about To DO GSizsd, with de
CdedIy cushing expression.
The body of the insleiS almost bare o
bresstan back, inside of ihigds and arms
whore the skin is Of 9 shiny brownish blaC
celer. EIswhero on the body and limbs tn
nair is thick, very long in places, strsigs
coarse, and of a brick-rea color.