Gorillas & ChimpanzeesGarner, R. L. (Richard Lynch)
Science
Gorillas & Chimpanzees
Garner, R. L. (Richard Lynch)
Chimpanzees; Gabon -- Description and travel; Garner, R. L. (Richard Lynch), 1848-1920 -- Travel; Gorilla
I gave him the name Moses, not in derision of the historic Israelite of
that name, but because of the circumstances of his capture and life.
He was found all alone in a wild papyrus swamp of the Ogowe River. No
one knew who his parents were, or how he ever came to be left in that
dismal place. The low bush in which he was crouched when discovered
was surrounded by water, and the poor little waif was cut off from the
adjacent dry land.
As the native who captured him approached, the timid little ape tried
to climb up among the vines above him, and escape, but the agile hunter
seized him before he could do so. 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 them, she did not respond, so he tied the baby captive with
a thong of bark, put him into his canoe, and brought him away to the
village, where 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 him, and took him along
with me. We soon became the best of friends and constant companions.
It was supposed that the mother chimpanzee left her babe in the tree
while she went off in search of food, and 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 such 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 had a curtain hung at the door, 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 suspended a few feet from the ground, so as to keep
out the ants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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