The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-11-06

lowest men aud highest apes So much is
certain. aud has ceased 10 be matter of Opin-
ion but beyond these results OF comparative
anatomy, almost IL not quite every question
connected with this subject remains unsettled.
Turning. then. from structure aud tho impica-
tons which may attach to II, we will now con-
slider the descriptive zoology of the gorilla as
it Is given in accounts by naturaists aud tray
eIers.
1t is probable that the arst notice OF this
oreRture--TroRlodyte gosilla-the black cave
dweller as IL is technically called-although 1t
DOES NOT LIVE IN A GAVE.
but In tree, or more commonly in some deep
recess of equatorial west African forests-was
written in the sixth century b. e. by a Cartha-
gilman Admiral, who commanded a fleet in
tended To ciTcumuaviRate tho Dark CONT
nent." This account was afterward translated
into Greek at Carthage and has come down to
us under tho namo Of tho " Periplus of Hauno."
He refers To " certain hairy men and women
named Rorillas." but these described as de-
| cidediy gregarious which gorillas are not and
he also depicts them as In the habit of throw
ing stones which they never do.
This name has been doubt used as indeh.
nitoly as that of pongo, which was applied to
the orang, chimpauzee. and gorilla alike. An
| drew Battel. however, an English prisoner of
| the Portuguese at Angola in the early part of
| the 18th century, evidently knew of the King
| of the African forest as Du Chailu calls this
| greatest of the apes. Bosnian subsequently,
met with IL in Guinea, aud DO la Brossa, 1888.
| and Bowditch, 1919, recorded tho stories TALL
more or less fabulous) which they had heard
OF the ingena, or ngina, from natives of the
West Coast.
Most likely We do not know tho exact range
| of this animal. IL has been met with on the
| Gabo0n, MUM, Fernand. VaZ rivers and In The
aiuvial bottoms of the ogowe aud Danger !;
indeed DR.. Scbweinfurth asserts TINT the delta
| of the former stream is its true home. But
| Ford found great numbers of gorillas in the
Sierra do CRYSTAL. and as tho families or pairs in
which they live are of wandering habits the
| group in all probability spreads over a wide
| area and has been incorrectly localized In the
| country between the CAMERON and Congo by
| those who encountered these animals only in
that particular place.
An adult male of this species often reaches
| five feet six or eight inches in hight, and may
| weigh, like the one shot by K0ppcnfes ia the
| Ashangolo mountains, 400 pounds. The erect
| position is more readily assumed than by other
| anthr0p0ids, owing To the
suoRTNEss OF ITs ARMS,
which are, relatively to tho bulk. but little
longer than those of a man; also to the great
| breadth Of its shoulders. and more particularly
| to the fact that the sole of the foot, which il
| both broad and short, il not inverted rs In all
| monkeys, and to some extent in all other apes
| likewise. Gorllas, therefore, are less adapted
for climbing than any of their allies, and have
! almost uniformly been seen wandering upon
| the ground.
They are immense, most powerful, and ex-
tremely hide0us creatures, with grotesquely
| dsproportioned frames; and an old male, in
their favorite position of leaning against tree,
would seem, ut first sight, TO justify Du Chaillu
in all his romances The sonber hue of the
dark gray hair on it's body, the brutal and
ferocious face, with its forehead obscured by
immense supra orbital ridges, those malign
hazel. gray eyes, the bristliug crest, great ca
nine teeth, aud deep reVerberating roar. are
| sufficiently awe'inspiring, enough like tho fea-
lures Of some m0nsIrous human birth, TO ex-
cuse almost any exaggerations. Formidable
enough these creatures most certainly are,
! though WinwoOd Reade says they will always
| attempt TO escape from human beings.
We have heretofore discussed many OF
these dogmatic statements about wild beasts,
that IL Is unnecessary to point out the fact that
| Reades assertion amounts To nothing but this,
namely, that no gorilla ever attacked him, and
that no authentic instance OF its having made
an assault In other instances had come under his
notice. In Africa, however their unprovoked
| murders arc universally credited, aud there ia
no reason for denying the evidence of natives
who live with the beast on this point, because
| ii Is mingled with fables and supersti tons do.
rived from its horribly human appearance.
For the most part gorillas are undoubtedly
VEGETABLE FEEDERS,
and belong to a fruit-cating Species that lives
upon wild plants, roots and berries, or the
products of cultivated fields, which are plumber
ed by night. On the Other hand, DR.. Hartman
saw no reason for discrediting Savages state
ment that they occasionally devour men and
other animals whom they have killed. In his
| recent work upon THE Anthropoid Apes" he
indicates the fact that they. like most species
Of apes. prey upon the smaller mann