The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-14
GIANT APES OF BoRNEo.
Interesting Facts About Able Bodied
Anthropoids That Live in Trees.

~N-@A ~ RN%~@ l AA-fS Law = - Ia C0s
From the Washington star.
! my acquaintance with apes has been
chiefly made in Borneo," said Prof. Henry
| A. Ward, the famous natural science coll
lector OF Rochester to reporter the other
| day. THAT great island is the home Of the
orang, which is the most arboreal Of all
monkeys. The aaimals live IN trees alto.
| gether, rarely, If ever, visiting the ground.
1t takes two good marksmen TO shoot one.
because they dodge around the
trunks. They do all their fighting aloft,
and it is great fun to see them drop the
armfuls Of fruit they have gathsred in con-
| tests for its possession. They are plentiful
in the lowlands near the coast 1t is rarely
that anybody ventures into the interior, be-
cause there the head hunting natl YES prowl.
Among them each man is required to have
| secured head before he is permitted to
marry, and on this account the young
gentleman savages are continually looking
about for something to kill This makes
travelling dlsagreeable.
"Oae of the most noticeable features Of
the landscape Of Borneo Is the nests Of
orangs which are scattered about thickly
| among the tall trees. From their number
one might get greatly exaggerated impress
sion of the plentifuluess of the species unless
1t were understood how and for what pur-
poses these roosting places were constructed.
The beasts are greatly annoyed by flies,
from which they are able to protect the
front part OF their bodies with their hands,
but they cannot keep the vicious insects
from biting them in the rear, and so they
gather quantity of leaves and
branches and make them into couches to
repose against among the boughs. A pro-
lection Of this sort serves very we'll for
awhile, but presently the material begins to
decompose and the deeaying leaves attract
the flies which the orang is so anxious to
get rid OF. Then he is obliged TO make
another nest of fresh stuff and so he may
require dozens of them in the course OF the
year. InaSmuch as he does not take the
trouble 10 remove the old ones they remain
to adorn the tree top in which he swings
about.
"Orangs have very curious method Of
fighting. In their conflicts among them
selves, which are frequent, their effort is
always to seize the fingers Of their adver-
saries and bite them. A very beautiful
group of these animals at the National Mu-
scum. mounted by Mr. Hornaday, admir-
ably i'll astrates Il typical encounter of the
sort. 1t is owing to this method OF battle
that it is almost impossible to procure a
skin that does not lack some of the fingers
If defending itself against ma1 the beast
will always attempt to grab the arms Of his
h man opponent SO as 10 chew off his
fingers. For this purpose its jaw is excel
lently adapted, being enormously powerful
and equipped with huge incisors.
"The fsvorite fruit of orang is the
'duriOn' fruit which is perhaps the most
delicious in the world, uniting as it does the
tiavors of the peach, toe psar and the straw
berry. Like most things nearly perfect.
however, this fruit has a drawback
namely, that it leaves a taste In the mouth
the next day after 1t is eaten which IL more
Esr,. H.
conceived. To protect itself from ths
rain the orang crooks its arms over its
head. The hair on the orang's upper arm
points downward, while on the lower arm
it points upward, the apparent purpose
being TO shed the rain like thatch when
the attitude have described is assumed.
1.-The other great ape which makes its
home in Borneo is the gibhoD, which is a
small animal compared with the orRng,
weighing only about forty or fifty pounds
1t is very frail in its bodily makeup. The
head is set squarely upon the shoulders and
it looks upward. When walking on the
ground it balances itself along like a
walker on the tight-roEe. Its remarkable
power Of grasp and dexterity in using its
hands is equally with the shape Of it's
Uranium an index OF its superior intelligence,
perhaps because 1t is able to take hold of a
greater number of things and examine
them. The gibbon is Il natural acrobat.
Its trapeze performances in trees are simply
| marvellous.
'The animals go in droves, whereas
orRngs live by families, and one Of the most
interesting spectGcles Imaginable to see a
troop OF them crossing a great gap in the
forest by throwing themselves in succession
through the cir. each one taking swing
or two to gather momentum before launch
ing himself. So great is their agility that
in executing feats of this sort they seem
like birds.
Natives in the countries inhabited by
great apes regard them always as human
beings of inferior types, and it Is for this
reason that for long time it was found i'm
possible TO get hold Of an entire gorilla skin,
because the savages considered it religlorslv
necessary to cut off the hands and feet of
the animals when they killed them, just as
they do with their enemies. possibly for the
purpose of rendering them harmless ia
case they should by any chance come to life
again"