Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-03

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much as man would
40 H-that is to say. primeval man. In all
the actions of their daily lives-eating,
drinking, building nests, fighting like
roughs and so forth-they resemble our
serves though in grotesque fashion. The
iemales suckle their young and carry them
astrlde their hips precisely as do the wo-
men OF Hindostan. Their motions Of af-
tection, satisfaction, pain and rage are
SHOWN In thoroughly human-like ways"
mus spoke naturalist in conversation
with writer for The Star, and added:
of course. you know that the oranp
outang Is one of the three giant apes
Ihough found to some extent elsewhere. ii
mas It's chief home in Borneo, where II
dwells among the painless forests which
cover the greater part of the island Its
Drain Is as well developed and as large as
that OF the gorilla or the chimpanzee. While
Its fore-limbs are longer than theirs. it
comes nearer to man than they in respect
TO the number of its ribs, having twelve
pairs. The chimpanzee approaches most
closely to the human type in the shape of
its SKULL in its teeth, and in the propor-
tional size of its arms. The gorilla has the
advantage in the proportion of the legs to
the BODY, In the size of the heel, in the cur
Nature OF the spine, and in the form OF the
pelvis.
THE most striking feature of the orang is
It's great size and general resemblance to
man. The chest, arms and hands are es-
peclally human like in their size and gen.
erai outline. Since the animal depends
mainly upon these members for it's means
CT locomotion, they are necessarily of mas
sive proportions. The natural position of
your hand or mine when at rest is with the
myers slightly bent at the tips, but that of
tne 0rang Is with the fingers clenched. In
handling dead ape of this kind it is often
round impossible to straighten even a single
finger without cutting the tendon in the
palm Of the hand. Thus. when an orang is
asleep the most natural position he can as
sumo Is firmly grasping a branch with each
hand.
THE eyes of the orang are very small,
with an iris Of dark brown and no white
visible. Its teeth are always very much dis
colored by vegetable acids and Juices the
base of each tooth being black The hair is
usually brick red or dark red, though some
times SO light a brown as to be almost straw
color The animal seems to have no neck at
all. the head being set squarely down upon
the shoulders. Its hind legs are short and
weak. Like cherub, it never sits down in
the proper sense of the word The males
are distinguished by remarkable discs of
callous tissue on the cheeks. These are semi
cartilaginous and seem to be purely orna-
ihehtdi. reHaleS 90 not possess them.
Desperate Characters.
THE males are much given to fighting. as
Is proved by the numerous scars found on
the bodies of killed and captive specimens.
Being purely fruit-eating animals their huge
canine teeth seem to have been provided
chiefly as weapons of battle, and they use
them to great advantage Like some roughs
OF the human species. they are given to
seizing each others fingers and biting them
on Their jaws do not open wide enough to
seize an arm or shoulder to good advantage
one individual collected by a naturalist
and since relegated to a museum was named
The Desperate because of the numerous
signs of wounds which he bore Pieces had
been bitten out of his upper and lower lips
leaving big ragged notch in each and
both of his middle fingers had been .chawed
Off at the second joint. Not only that, but
on the feet the third right toe was missing.
as well as the end of the left big toe and the
fourth toe on the same foot.
In fight the chief effort of the orang
is always to seize its adversary's fingers
and convey them to its mouth. This meth
cd of combat Is adopted largely because
of the extreme unwiediness of the animal
While engaged in conflict 1t Is Obliged to
save itself from falling out of the tree by
holding on with one hand, and it is hardly
practicable to come to close quarters in a
rough-and-tumble battle Thus IL is more
than likely that such encounters rarely
terminate fatally to the vanquished. the
latter getting away sooner or later with
more or less mutilation. In a fight with a
man this giant ape pursues the same tao
tics, and II Is not safe for a person to an
proach too nearly an orang in a cage, lest
Even baby monkey of this kind will in
anger grasp the wrist of the individual
against whom it's rage Is excited and will
convey the hand to its mouth in obedience
to instinct.
THE faces and features of oranes vary
as much as those Of human beings ordin-
arlly-certainly as much as those Of
Chinese and Japanese. These apes inhabit
a wide belt of forest-covered swamps
which lies between the seacoast and the
mountain ranges of the interior of Borneo
Gut or the swamps isolated hills rise here
and there like islands out of a sea, clothed
70 thelr SUBMITS with trees Many of the
trees bear fruit of different kinds, and at
the season of ripening the apes repair to
the hills for their great yearly feast.
Among the fruits are the 'durion.' the
'mangosteen' and the 'rambutan. as well
as others equally unknown in this oart of
the world. The 'durion is perhaps the
most delicious Of all fruits, uniting the
havors of the peach, the pear and the
strawberry. Like most things nearly per-
feet, however, 1t has drawback, namely.
that 1t leaves taste in the mouth the next
day after 1T is eaten which is more abom-
Unable than can either be described or con-
ceived. The animals devour the shoots of
the pandanus palm and other trees as well
as certain kinds of leaves. During the hot
lHey EellTe INTO the depths OF the
forests.
How He Nnvisntes.
"Orangs are the most arboreal Of all
monkeys. Living wholly in trees, they
never come down to the ground, though
when thirsty they descend far enough to
reach the water. A more helpless creature
on land could not be imagined Owing to
the great weight Of their bodies, and the
peculiar structure Of their hands, they can
not run along the branches. and never dare
to spring from one tree to the next Small |
Ter relatives Of theirs. the gibbons of Bor-
neo, weighing only forty or fifty pounds, |
and very frail in their bodily makeup are
so agile in leaplng from bough to bough as
to seem almost like birds They are natur- |
al acrobats. Going in droves, whereas |
orangs live by families, one of the most in |
teresting spectacles imaginable is to see |
troop Of them crossing a great gap in the |
forest by throwing themselves in success
sion In the air, each one taking a swing or |
two to get momentum before launching |
himself. Not so the orang, with its huge |
habby stomach and massive head His |