Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-04-11
OUR DISTANT COUSINS.
An Interesting Chapter on the Anthro-
pold Apes and Their WAYS.


poid Apes and Their Ways.
The largest and best known of the an
| thropoid apes Ia the orang -utan which is
common I'm Borneo, rarer in Sumatra, and
| lacking In Java and the rest of the Malay
! archipelago. More widely distributed. but
| less well known, is the smaller ape, the
| glbbon Cor forest-goer) which is present
In as many as eight different varieties
and is also found on the Asian mainland.
These two are the only representatives Of
| the Asian anthropoids. while the African
are represented by the gorilla and the
smaller chimpanzee. AS is well known
these tailless anthropoids are distinguish
ed among all living vertebrates for being
animals that are nearest to mankind in
the sum of their characteristics: so near
indeed that there can be no doubt of their
close relationship with us.
All the varieties of gibbon are distin-
guished by the extraordinary length of
| their arms I'm comparison with their short
legs and by ability in consequence TO
climb swiftly and spring from tree To tree
| In long jumps. All have loud voices and
some of them sing whole octave of the
chromatic scale, just like a musical boy
Ihe ash-gray gibbon. or leuciscus. is
round only In Java. The natives call him
GA. after the chara cteristic sound he is
apt to utter, calling the sound several
tlines IN succession. Standing up. the lit
feet high. Half of that is made up of the
body. the other half of the slender legs
Much longer are the front legs or arms
me GA Is about like q six-year-old child
nut IN proportion his head is much small
err his figure slenderer, his legs shorter. and
his arms much longer. Most Of his body
Is covered with light gray, somewhat
woolly, soft fur on the breast the hair
is thinner; the bare parts ears. palms of
the hands. and soles of the feet are I'm
color blackish, while the little roundsh
race Is sooty black white beard which
frames 1t gives very singular appear-
ance. The iris of the eye is light brown
The face Of the GA is much more human
IMAM that of the orang because the lower
Jaw protrudes less: the facial angle is over
60 degrees The face of the GA reminds
one of bank director gone to smash. who
was prey to bitter sorrows and was
brooding with wrinked brow over the re-
suits of the crash.
The GA walks upright on his feet and
stretches out his arms on each side to
preserve his balance; the long hands
hanging from the wrist. While running
quickly he never touched the earth with
his hands. as the orang-utan and Chin
panzee often do; he never crawled on all
tours. But his great art was seen In
climbing. With the utmost sureness. by
means OF his powerful. long arms he
shot himself from one tree to another at
great distance One hand or one foot
was enough to support him, head down
ward or In movement The most intricate
evolutions were performed as II no mus
cular exertion was required. In the sun
shine he would lie on his back with one
arm under his head. just like a tired ped
estrian.
At night he slept in crouching attitude
IN box, the knees drawn up and the
long arms resting on them. the chin sunk
on his breast. Some Malay women who
worked In the garden had made him a red
Jacket, which he evidently thought becom-
ing. for he liked to put IT on. button II up.
and look 1t over, while he was very huffy
II II was taken on. A little Malay girl
was his friend also. II any one came up
and took the little girl by the hand the
GA was angry. but II she was led away he
Tried TO bite. Anger in such circum-
stances or when some titbit was withheld
from him was expressed by a sharply ut
tered and repeated "Hooee- hooee hooee "
quickly pronounced. This sound was
very different from the usual oa-oa -oa.
which he varied by tone and sharpness so
as to express different emotions A third
sound, loud yell. was given when the GA
was suddenly put to fright. He uttered
H. for Instance. when Prof. Haeckel pre-
tended to throw him into the rivulet
Il heard this cry once" he saws Eat
the waterfalls OF Tjiburrum. when watch
ing number of gibbons in the tops OF
high trees. They were making such in
credibly long jumps from tree to tree at
the time that they really seemed to be
living through the air. few moments
later. when they We're out of sight
heard wretched yelling, exactly as IL n
little dog were being beaten. Perhaps an
GA mother was merely chastising her
naughty child but perhaps one Of the
luckless creatures had been seized by a
panther or by the sly little wildcat Felis
minutaO which is not uncommon in the
primeval forests of Java and is an adept
at climbing and jumping among the
trees"
Gibbons have few words in their speech.
but make mp by expressive changes in
tone and by gestures. They drink like
human beings and are easily taught 10 use
knife and fork in eating. They show par
ticular disguest nj spiders scorpions. and
crabs; they eat cooked birds but prefer
fruits. particularly the strong-smelling but
misunderstanding DURHAM. Most Malays re-
gard orang-utans and gibbons as descend
ed from mankind; they tell a story Of a
boy and girl who We're lost in the wilds.
took to the trees. married. and We're the
nrogenitors Of the anthropod apes. Their
idea is almost as false as the vulgar opin-
ion in the western lands that Darwin sup
posed mankind to descend from monkeys
like those now living.