As they all, except possibly the Soko, live in a district where the forests are dense and close, there is no doubt they are rarely seen; and indeed reliable travellers do not hesitate to say that a white man has never seen them in a state of nature, except by obtaining a glance as they rush off on being surprised. All the stories must, therefore, be received with suspicion, as tainted with the results of African fear and love of the wonderful; especially as they come from the negro race living in the remarkable tract of country extending along the West Coast from the river Gambia to some distance north of Angola, and thence into the interior to the little known regions between the hills which run parallel with the sea many miles inland, and the country of the large lakes far away to the East. Gifted with wonderful agility and no little power of imitation and intelligence, and possessed of very acute senses and ability to unite the actions of many groups of muscles to a common purpose, the Chimpanzee must have a well-formed nervous system--that is to say, a good brain and spinal cord. A brain to originate or commence actions, and the cord of nerves to carry the orders of the brain to the limbs. Measured over the brain case of the skull, that of the Chimpanzee has a bulk of about one-half of that of man, and less than that of the Gorilla; but the brain itself has striking resemblances to that of man. The principal folds which are noticed on the human brain exist in the Chimpanzee, but they are simpler in their foldings, and are large in proportion to the whole. This means that there is not as much nerve structure packed in a given space as there is in man; and the distinction is most important, for the greater the packing the greater the nervous energy and power. But the parts of the brain which have especially to do with the movements of the body, and their regulations and adaptations, are very well formed; and it is the comparative deficiency in those parts which have a mysterious relation with the intelligence, instinct, and the mind which causes the brain of the Chimpanzee to differ in appearance and size from that of man. But in both the brain proper over-laps and covers the cerebellum or little brain. The nerves are well formed and large. It seems that the brain of the Chimpanzee never has a chance of increasing in size, for after a certain age the bones of the brain case become, as it were, soldered together. The Chimpanzee has a famous pair of shoulders, a broad back, and, like the Gorilla, a very short neck. Its weight is less than that of the greatest of Apes, and therefore it does not require such huge muscles for climbing. The great bony spines of the neck-bones are smaller; and the bones of the upper part of the spine are not made as strongly.