The record-union., 1896-01-28
TALKING WITH G0RILLAO.
Professor Garner Writes From the
Edge of the African Jungle,
Now in His Big Cage Studying the
Big Apes of the Prime
val Forest.

Professor Fl. L. Garner, writing to the
New York World from Ambrizette,
Africa, on October 10Th. says: am now
on the edge of civilization, about to
plunge into the depths of the African
forest. These are the last words shall
send before 1 disappear Where and
when l shall come out l do not know.
am now writing at Ambrizette, An
COLA, and it is the 10Th of October. 1t
is unlikely that anything will be heard
from me for some months. 1t is, of
course, possible that may never again
reach civilization and that this manu-
script will be my last.
But If my journey is as successful as
I expect it to be, it will be surprising in
its results and rapid in it's execution. /
intend now to strike out for the Bo-
darkest Africa.
Here / shall again resume my exper-
iments with the native gorillas and hope
to complete the alphabet of the native
language of the ape, which I was COM
PEELED to abandon during my first visit
here year ago.
/ hope to cross Esyria to the Rembo
Nkani and, via Fernan Vaz Lake, into
the Lake Izanga country, where / shall
make for the coast. No time can be
stated for this hazardous journey, as
most of it is afoot or by canoe. But 1
hope to be back in New York early in
the new year, or at any rate before the
summer is we'll advanced.
1 am well equipped for this journey
and for my experiments.
My previous experience in Africa will
be of the utmost value.
My knowledge of the country and of
the native languages has already been
of the greatest assistance.
Standing here on the brink where
civilization and barbarism meet, am
confident that the journey which is be-
fore me will bring them both closer to-
gether. 1 am bringing some of the
finest mechanical productions of civil
ization into the heart of the Jungle l
shall bring out of the primeval forest
specimens bearing on anthropology and
testimony to the antiquity of language
that will be absolutely new.
There are things in this African
jungle which comes down here to where
/ stand that bear directly on the his
tory OF our race and speech. Here are
found races that have not advanced in
10000 years, races that seem indeed
never to have advanced and to occupy
to-day lower place in the social scale
than many animals.
l have described further on man
whom ] saw and talked with a few
days ago who has all the characteristics
of a gorilla. have met gorillas with
many human attributes including an
elaborate language sufficient to enable
them to make known their wants, TO
warn one another and to express emo
tions like love and fear.
T do not doubt that there are members
Of the monkey family possessing a
higher intelligence and a greater flu
ency of language than many natives of
Africa, whom they SO closely resemble
I have known of the same words being
used to express the same things in the
language of both. These are some of
the facts my present journey will throw
light upon.
THE MONKEY COUNTRY.
I am heading now for the greatest
monkey country in the world, the great
original breeding place of our race, as
some believe. Here are to be found
races of men the like of which can be
seen nowhere else on earth.
Here are to be found men so peculiar
that hundreds of thousands if not mill
ions of years must have elapsed since
they Lranched off from the rest of the
great human family. They are to-day
either the sole remaining specimens of
primeval man, or men who have slowly
bv interbreeding developed unique idio-.
syncrasies which differentiate them
from ali others.
III this great African jungle which the
light of civilization has never pene-
trated. where time has stood still, which
is to-day identical with what it was ten
thousand years ago, an animal civili-
cation has sprung up that has advanced
quicker than the civilization of its hu-
man inhabitants. The skull of monkeys
in this great heart of Africa has grown
faster than the skull of men.
Here are found the largest monkeys
and the smallest men. Not far from
where I am sitting tonight writing the
chirlpanzees have musical instruments
around which they hold a dance, while
there are tribes of savages so low and
brutal as never to have invented a
musical instrument.
Monkey tribes, gorilla tribes and
have leaders and governors. They. seem
to have a rude system of government
of the forest
Each appears to have special coun-
try of its own into which the others
rarely penetrate. They have mysterf-
Gus calls, periodical conventions and
regular times for joyful gatherings.
This is the greatest place for scien-
80 rf4rxy 1stI II
is the Oldest known field of human oc-
cupancy, and second ly because it has
been wholly neglected TI1s IS a virgin
and discovery
There is more to be learned in Africa
on the remote history of our race than
in all the rest of the world together.
The lowest savage is more interesting
to the scientist than the most highly
civilized man. 1t is 1ere that the low
est savage is to be found az wen as the
highest ape, and men and animals are
so close together that it can be almost
said there is no missing link.
Darwin ought to have come here be-
fore he wrote his book Who knows
but that the chain which is to connect
US with the protoplasm is now to be
completed here at last?
In order to reach where I now am /
had to make the journey up the Congo
to the rapids. No words can adequately
describe, no fancy can depict. this
mighty river. From the sea to Bona it
is much the same as other African
rivers. flowing through low delta
country of marshes and jungle.
abounding with islands Of grass, reeds
and palms.
But from Bona it winds its tortuous
ne y o. the leara1a hills &c ,.r.1- :, Il