Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-01-23
THE GORILLA AT HOME.

tt Is SalU bS the natives lIlaV lHc SOIllitt
makes sleeping place like hammock, by
connecting the branches Of sheltered AND
thicl;ly leavcd part Of q tree by means of
the long. tough, slender stems Of parasitic
plants. aud lining it with the dried broad
ironds Of fern, or with long grass This
hammock like abode may be seen at dill
fercnt heights, from ten Ia forty feet from
INC Ground but there is never more than
one such nest in 3 tree. They avoid the
abodes of man. hut are most commonly seen
III the months Of September, October and
November, after The negroes have gathered
ed from the bush to thcr valleys. So OBJ
served. tncy are usually described to be in
pairs. or if more, the addition consists of II
few Young ones Of different ages and APP
parcntv OF one family. The gorilla IS net
gregarious. ,:hn parents may be seen sitting
on = branch resting their backs against the
tree trunk muuching fruit, whilst the young
gcriiias arc at play, leaping and swinging
from branch 10 branch with hOots or marsh
cries OF b0sterous mirtE. This rural felicity.
however, has its Objectionable sides, ior &C.
casioBGly, if not invariably the old male, if
he he saen in quest Of food, IS usually armed
with d short stick, which the negroes aver 10
be ,heMeap0n with which be attacks lis chief
enemy, the elephant. Not that Tie elephant
directly Or Intentionally injuries the gorilla
but deriving It's subsistence from the same
source. the ape regards the great proboscid-
ian as q hostile intruder. When, therefore,
he sees Inc elephant pulling down and
wrencllin@ oil inc branches OF Il ;avoritc
lrse, the gorilla. stealing along the bough,
strikes yhe sensitive ProbCsc5 ot the cleph-
amt with a violent blow Of his club, and
drives oil the startled giant trumpeting
shrily with pain. In passing from one tree
20 another the gorilla is said to wall; semi
erect with the aid OF his club, but with Il
waddling and awkward gait when with
out a stick, he has been seen TO wall. - a
man with his bands clasped across the back
OF his head, inslinctively balancing his !or-
ward position. Ii the gorilla DC surprised
and approached. whatever the ground MAJ
be he betaIics himself OH all iours, dropp!ug
the stick, and makes his way very rapidiy
with q kind Of sidelong galiop, resting on
the front knuckles, to the ncarcs; tree.
There he meets his pursuer, especial
~ If his family is near and requir-
ing his defense No negro willingly
approaches The tree in which the male
S-N'iAtS' !NSCit5 S-thi''' 81 'i''- s'-!i
The experienced negro does no. make the
attack. but reserves lis fire il self defense.
The cnmity OF INC gorilla 10 tlo whole
negro race male and female, is uniformly
attcsted. Thus, when young men of the Ga
boon tribe make excursions into the forrest
in quest ofivory, the enemy they most dread
to meet Is the gorilla. If they have come
unawares too near him with his family, he
does not, like The lion, suikily retreat, but
comes rapidly 10 the attack, swinging down
to the lower branches aud cutcbng at the
nearest foe. The hideous aspect Of the ami
mai, with his green eyes flashing with rage,
Is heightened by the skin over the orbits and
eycbrows being drawn rapidly backwards
and forwards, with she hair erected, pro-
Gucing a horrible and iiendish scowl. If
fred nj and not mortally hit, the gorilla
closes once upon his assaiant, and inhicts
most dangerous ii not deadly wounds, with
his sharp and powerful tusks. The COM
manGcr OF . Bristol trader once saw negro
at the Gaboon frightfully nutilated from
the bite OF gorilla, from which lie had re-
covered Another negro exhibited TO the
same vogagcr gun barrel, bent and partly
nattencd by wounded gorilla in its death
agle- CuSsclFs Illustrated Natural HIS
fo,,