The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1907-04-19
FOUND AT LAST.
A Tribe of Monkey Men Dlscov.
cred That May Be.
THE MISSING LINK.

Prof. Klaatch Discovers q Tribe Of
Hairy Australian Natives, With
Hands and Feet Like Big Apes,
And Who Live In Trees. They
Are Very Wild, and 1t Was Hard
to Examine Thorn.
Professor Klaatsch, Of the Univer-
sity of Heidelberg, has discovered a
new and most important link in the
chain Of evolution that binds man to
the ape.
He has observed q race Of Austral-
ian natives who possess some of the
most marked characteristics of apes
and yet are undoubtedly men. These
characteristics consist in having the
thumbs but very slightly developed
as in the apes, and in having great
toes Of almost Identical form with
the thumbs.
Professor Klaatsch set out to ex-
plore the country between the DAILY
and Victoria rivers, in northern Aus
tralia. This country q few miles in
land from the coast has hardly been
touched by the white man. While in
Port Arthur, on the coast Of this re-
gion, he happened to be present at
the trial of some natives who were
charged with the murder Of q white
man. The trained scientific eye of
the professor noted with amazement
that one Of these natives possessed
hands and feet like those of an an
thropoid ape and many other similar
characteristics.
Professor Klaatsch with great diff
ficulty ascertained the direction from
which the man came and then start
ed thither with the intention Of find
ing and studying the rest of his tribe.
He reached the locality indicated
after a journey of three weeks across
the desert. At first he could observe
no signs of human habitation, but he
was prepared for this, because ne
knew that the natives were exceed
ingly timid and possessed no regular
houses. He spread out various gilt
tering objects as bait, and after q
few days these aroused the curiosity
of the wild men to such an extent
that they crept up to steal them.
The professor then put out food, and
after they had tasted this he was
able to make friends with them just
as he might have done with some
wild animals.
He found that these natives were
covered with long hair from head to
foot in all parts of the body except
the face. the palms of the hands. the
soles of the feet and their launches.
The most remarkable feature of all
was the formation of their hands and
feet. The palms of the hands were
almost as long proportionately as the
sole of al ordinary white mans foot
and the fingers were proportionately
short. These were partially Joined
together by skin. The thumb was
noticeably short, and it's tip did not
reach halfway towards the base OF
the fingers. 1t did not possess the
power of moving freely across the
hand, which is characteristic of the
civilized mans thumb. All the pecu.
liarities noted in the thumbs of the
natives are found in the higher an.
thropoid apes, especially the chin.
panzee and gorilla.
The feet of the natives were form.
ed in almost exactly the same man
ner as their hands. They were also
slightly turned up on the inner side,
so that the little men did not move
with the same apparent ease as white
men, whose feet came evenly upon
the ground, but nevertheless they
were able to run very well. Their
feet possessed the same prehensile
power as their hands, and they used
one and the other with equal facility
in climbing trees and Selling objects.
Now, the possession of a thumb by
the ape is one of the most remark
able facts indicating his close rela-
tionship to man, but its lack of de-
velopment shows the immense gulf
which still separates him from the
human family. The Klaatsch ape
man possessed'an absolutely ape-like
thumb and great toe, together with
the structure of a man in other re-
spects, and therefore apparently he
partook equally of the characteristics
Of an ape and a man.
Professor Klaatsch examined the
physical conformity Of the natives
with the greatest minuteness and
found that apart from their hands
and feet their bony anatomy did not
differ in any fundamental respect
from that of man and did not present
any of the minor characteristics that
differentiate the skeleton of the an
thropoid ape from that Of man.
The wild men are very simian in
general aspects. They have scarcely
any forehead and they have large
projecting ridges above their eyes.
They. are highly prognathous, that is
having protruding under jaws. Their
noses are Aattened almost to nothing
at the bridge and are very broad at
the other end. the nostrils being large
and opening forward,
They build no houses but shelter
themselves under bushes or in the
branches Of trees, when the women
are raising children however, the
men make night shelters of boughs
over them. They have no regular
marriage, but when a mar desires q
wife he lies in wait for her behind a
tree, springs upon her, beats her into
unconsciousness with a club and
drags her off to his lair.
They do not possess a properly ar
ticulated language, and they make
known their wants by crie and howls
ncnmh1ipn tho no;coo ~