Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/125

 GORILLA >out the same length, and partly united at their base by the integuments; the gorilla is essentially quadrumanous, and the posterior thumbs are largely developed, widely separated from the toes, to which they are easily op- posed, and well calculated for prehension. The genus gorilla was established by Geoffroy Saint-Ililaire on the following characters prin- cipally : the head rounded in the young, very much" elongated and depressed in the adult, with very prominent crapial crests ; the pecu- liar conformation of the organs of sense, above detailed; the gigantic size; the proportions of the limbs, and the characters of the hands and feet; and the peculiarities of the teeth. It seems sufficiently distinct from troglodytes ni- ger. It is not easy to determine the precise position of the gorilla in the quadrumanous series ; in the structure of the hand and foot it comes nearer to man than the chimpanzee does ; in the canines it would seem to be below even the orangs ; and in the proportion of the arm and forearm it is below the chimpanzee. The very indefmiteness of its position is an- other argument for its separation as a genus among the quadrumana. The adult male go- rilla is from 5 to 6 ft. high in its natural alti- tude, though after death it may be stretched beyond this ; most specimens are under 6 ft., on account of the relative shortness and gene- rally flexed position of the legs; it far sur- passes man in the dimensions of the head, neck, body, and arms, and in the width of the shoulders ; some are said to measure from 7 to 9 ft. from the end of one outstretched hand to that of the other ; one of Du Chaillu's speci- mens measures 8 ft. 11 in. The general color of the hair, which is coarse and about 2 in. long on the arms, an inch on the belly, and quite short on the back and legs, is gray in- clining to black. There is a black stripe about 2 in. wide extending diagonally down the sides from behind the shoulder to the belly, which is entirely black. On the upper portion of the back the hair is very thin ; old ones are bare in that part. On the arms the hair is black, and reversed from the wrist to the el- bow ; the chest is nearly bare ; there are a few white hairs in the anal region; the face, hands, and feet are black ; the hands are hairy as far as the division of the fingers, the palms naked and callous ; the head has generally a reddish tint; on the whole the male would be called grayish and the female blackish. The young differ greatly from the adults in the shape of the head, and the females are less ferocious- looking as well as much smaller than the males. The gorilla is found on the W. coast of Africa, both K and S. of the equator, but especially in the wooded districts of the inte- rior near the head waters of the Gaboon river, and along the Muni river as far E. as the Crystal mountains. It is principally an in- habitant^ the woods, but though the struc- ture of its four hands seems well adapted to climbing on trees, it is very rare that a female or a young male is seen on them the old males never ; its favorite mode of progression is on all fours, in a shuffling manner and rolling from side to side, but with its head always erect and its face looking forward ; on account of the greater length of the arms it stoops less than the chimpanzee, and is fond of thrusting these forward, with the flexed fingers on the ground, and of giving its body a half jumping, half swinging motion forward between them ; when it assumes the erect posture, it flexes the arms upward or crosses them on the nape in order to counterbalance the tendency of the trunk to fall forward. Gorillas are generally seen in troops of five r four females and one male, but the old males are occasionally met wandering alone ; though living in the same neighborhood as the chimpanzees, they do not associate with them. Their strength is enor- mous, not only in the jaw r s, which are able to crush the barrel of a musket, but in the hands and feet, which they use in common with their canines in attack and defence ; they are able to break with ease trees three or four inches in diameter. The males are exceedingly fero- cious, generally attacking man and animals in- truding upon their haunts; if wounded, they are more terrible than the lion, and in this event the hunter's death is sure and speedy if his hand trembles or his gun misses fire. They approach the enemy standing, advancing a few steps at a time, pausing to beat their breasts with both hands, and roaring terribly. When near enough, they spring upon him, and de- stroy him with their powerful hands. One of Du Chaillu's men was eviscerated by a single blow. The story of their carrying clubs is untrue. They are perfectly untamable, in this respect differing from the chimpanzee, which, in youth at least, appreciates- kind treatment. "When living in troops they are shy and diffi- cult to approach, but when mated or alone they almost invariably offer battle, and are then the most terrible of animals. When liv- ing near villages, they sometimes come at day- break to eat the plantains and sugar cane of the natives ; besides these they eat nuts, ber- ries, fruits of the oil palm and banana, the acid pulp of the amomum, the white portions of the leaves of the pineapple, and roots. Unlike the chimpanzee, the gorilla makes no shelter for itself. In intelligence it is considerably inferior to the chimpanzee. It exhibits great fondness for its young, of which it has one at a time. The reports of its visiting villages and carrying off negresses into the woods are mere fables. It is generally mute, but sometimes amuses itself by a sort of roaring, which, be- ginning low, increases till the forest echoes with its reverberations. When about to at- tack its enemies it gives a terrific yell, which resounds far and wide. The negroes of the interior are very fond of eating the flesh of go- rillas as well as of chimpanzees and monkeys. Among the coast tribes, on the other hand, it is considered an abomination to eat the flesh