During my sojourn in the forest I had a fine young chimpanzee, which was of ordinary intelligence, and he was of more than ordinary interest, because of his history. I gave him the name Moses,--not in derision of the historic Israelite of that name, but owing to the circumstances of his capture and his life. He was found all alone in a wild papyrus swamp of the Ogowé River. No one knew who his parents were. The low bush in which he was crouched when discovered was surrounded by water, and thus the poor little waif was cut off from the adjacent dry land. As the native approached to capture him, the timid little ape tried to climb up among the vines above him and escape; but the agile hunter seized him. At first the chimpanzee screamed and struggled to get away, because he had perhaps never before seen a man; but when he found that he was not going to be hurt, he put his frail arms around his captor and clung to him as a friend. Indeed, he seemed glad to be rescued from such a dreary place, even by such a strange creature as a man. For a moment the man feared that the cries of his young prisoner might call its mother to the rescue, and possibly a band of others; but if she heard, she did not respond; so he tied the baby captive with a thong of bark, put him into a canoe, and brought him away to the village. There he supplied him with food and made him quite cosy. The next day he was sold to a trader. About this time I passed up the river on my way to the jungle in search of the gorilla and other apes. Stopping at the station of the trader, I bought the young chimpanzee and took him along with me. We soon became the best of friends and constant companions. It was supposed that the mother chimpanzee had left her babe in the tree while she went off in search of food, and had wandered so far away that she lost her bearings and could not again find him. He appeared to have been for a long time without food, and may have been crouching there in the forks of that tree for a day or two; but this was only inferred from his hunger, as there was no way to determine how long he had remained, or even how he got there. I designed to bring Moses up in the way that good chimpanzees ought to be brought up; so I began to teach him good manners, in the hope that some day he would be a shining light to his race, and aid me in my work among them. To that end I took great care of him, and devoted much time to the study of his natural manners, and to improving them as much as his nature would allow. I built him a neat little house within a few feet of my cage. It was enclosed with a thin cloth, and at the door I hung a curtain to keep out mosquitoes and other insects. It was supplied with plenty of soft, clean leaves, and some canvas bed-clothing. It was covered over with a bamboo roof, and was suspended a few feet from the ground, so as to keep out the ants.