Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-08

UE to the fact that the gorilla Is
recognized by many as mans
closest relative, the study of this
ape is perhaps more interesting
49, and more important than the
study of any other animal However, there Is
other African beast that has been the center
of so many fables and supersttionS. Not only
are the inaccessibiity of the gorilla forests and
the persistence of the myths of an imaginative
and superstitious people obstacles to those who
would separate truth from fiction in our natural
history literature, but there is also tendency
to tell and Fetell tale which has been well
told until that tale is generally believed
For instance about the close OF the sixteenth
century Andrew Battell an English captive of
the Portuguese of Angola, established the idea
that the gorilla walked erect, slept in trees and
was the terror of natives. For many years
subsequent to BattelPs writing other writer's
have insisted that the gorilla was inclined TO
an erect posture in walking, that he lived In
trees and was exceedingly ferocious.
The intrepid little French American Paul
Du Chaillu was the first white hunter known
to have killed gorilla. In spite of their fame
as offensive warriors. the gorilaS surprised by
Du Chaillu fled away from him into the deep
forest. The hunters pursued until they were
exhausted, but "the alert beasts made good
their escape" and the charge of his old male
was proceeding hesitatingy, step by STEP"
Iasyhen Du Chaillu's gun interrupted it.
lad my husband been inclined to accept the
- traditional view of the gorilla, the Speci-
Rens he prepared for his African Hall group
might have been much more spectacularly
mounted and as a result much more startling
in their appeal than is actually the case In
his eyes it was nothing short of crime to
place in an educational institution like the
American Museum of Natural History an ex-
hibit that lacked a basis in natural history
fact. He had determined that African Hall
should contain nothing but the truth.
The Gorilla Group to which he devoted much
time and attention in the interim between his
two Kivu expeditions is the embodiment of
the facts revealed by his observations of the
gorilla If the exhibit has disappointed credu-
lous readers of Du Chaillu, it has at the same
time satisfied men who have actually seen live
gorilIas and prolonged observations by the
Akeley-Derscheid Expedition in 1926 have in
every detail reinforced this presentation of the
Gorilla Group.
The old male of Karisimbi dominates the
group. Disturbed by movement in the bushes
below he rises and beats his chest. The other
male is shown all fours in the normal walk
ing attitude. One hand Is poised as he hesi-
tates in his advance His expression is one Of
passive interest. One old female leans lazily
against the base Of tree, while baby idles
nearby. The fifth gorilla, a second mature
4 female is feeding the vegetation.
In discussing the experience of his 1921 ex-
petition which had been all too short to satisfy
him, but which had resulted I'm his belief that
the gorilla is a good-tempered animal whose
utterance is a prolonged cultural bark rather
than terrifying roar, who touches his knuckles
to the ground in walking, and who is scarcely
more arboreal in his habits than man. my hus-
band had eagerly anticipated the completion
of another important chapter in the natural
history record of the gorilla. He was; ever
mindful of the lack of knowledge concerning
this important primate. and of the necessity
more exhaustive scientific Investigation, &.
Although in the past zOohpgsts have been