The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-03-27
CATCHING A GORILLA.

have seen nearly every one of the
gorillas on exhibition in the geological
gardens of the world, and in only one
instance have | found an animal in any
way up to the standard of the beast as
found in the African jungles. That
fellow | helped to capture while in the
employ of the Hamburg house, and the
Sultan of Turkey paid a fabulous price
for him.
If Du Chaillu exaggerated at all in his
stories of the gorilla country, it was in
the number of animals he killed. No
writer can cxaggerate the temper and
tierceness OF the dangerous beast. Men
who have encountered him in his wild
and savage state have lived to tell OF it
more by good luck or accident than by
nerve and judgment. This is so because
the beast is never met with except by ac-
cident. You can hunt for lions, tigers,
and elephants and find them, but the
gorilla always finds the hunter.
We were about seventy miles inland
from the coast, on the Luigi River,
where we had a permanent camp, when
| received word that a tull grown speci-
men of the gorilla family was wanted,
and was authorized to spend three
months time and employ thousand
natives, if necessary to secure one We
had been in camp ten weeks, capturing
serpents and variety of animals, and
only once had signs of the presence of
gorilla been detected. Two miles to
the north of us there was heavy Jungle,
and if there were any gorillas in the
neighborhood they were hidden away
there. Ugly as he is, the beast hasn't
the nerve to attack a camp or a large
body of men. One had come down with
IN half mile of us, probably at night,
and had stood beside lone tree aud
had broken off branches and then broken
the branches into fragments to show his
temper and courage, but we neither saw
nor heard him.
When l found what was wanted,
called some of the oldest and wisest ma
tiyes to counsel, but none of them had
ever heard of full-grown gorilla being
captured alive, and none could suggest
what steps TO take. Therefore, to make
a beginning, ] sent out several parties to
scout, and on the second day one of these
located three of the beasts, father,
mother and baby gorilla, in a thicke ct
about five miles away. 1t was a piece of
rocky ground covered with a dense
growth, and from hiding place the men
had seen the gorillas enter the thicket
by path. The elephant and buffalo
and the various species of deer are al,
ways on the move, and have no fixed
place for even a day. Lions, tigers,
serpents, gorillas, leopa.ds, cougars
panthers and bears will make one par
ticular spot at home until the presence OF
danger or the absence of water or food
forces them away. The gorillas seen by
the black scouts would not run away
until disturbed, and l gave orders that
no one should go in that direction with
out my permission. | could think OF
only one way to effect captures by
setting one of our largest traps. We
had them stout enough to hold lion, or
bear, and one of them had once held a
buffalo all day long.
The strength of full-grown male
gorilla is something wonderful. One
swipe of his open hand will knock an OK
down. lie can bend gun barrel double
with his hands alone. He has as much
power in his avs as lion. was, un-
fortunately an eyewitness to some feats
of strength which lost me several yalua-
Bile men. We were in no hurry after