I know of no valid reason why he should be confined so strictly within the limits mentioned, unless it be from a condition of climate which seems peculiar to this district. South of it the climate along the coast is much cooler, and the country back of it is hilly and barren; north of the Equator is a land of perpetual rain, while to the eastward, it is mountainous. Within this district the rainy and dry seasons are more fixed and uniform. The gorilla appears to be an indigenous product which does not bear transplanting; he thrives only in a low, hot and humid region, infested by malaria, miasma and fevers. It is doubtful if he can long survive in a pure atmosphere. The only single specimen that I have ever heard of north of the equator, was one on the south side of the Komo River, which is the north branch of the Gaboon. The point at which I heard of him was within a few miles of the equator. I also heard of five having been seen a few miles south-west from Njole, which is located on the Equator on the south side of the Ogowe, a little way east of the Nguni, and they were said to be the first ever seen in that part within the memory of man. [Illustration: NATIVES SKINNING A GORILLA] As to their being found between Gaboon and Cameroon, I can find no trace along the coast of one ever having been seen in that part. Certain writers have mentioned the fact that in 1851 and 1852 they came in great numbers from the interior to the coast. From such a statement it might be inferred that they were seen in herds or armies together, while the truth was that in those years a few more gorillas appeared to be in the jungle than was usual, but they were not north of the Gaboon River. They were in the Ogowe delta about 1° south latitude; but no one ever supposed that they came from the Crystal Mountains or any other mountains. At that time neither traders nor missionaries had ascended the Gaboon River above Parrot Island (which is less than twenty miles from the mouth), except to make a flying trip by canoe, and nothing was known of that part except what was learned from the natives, and that was very little. During my first voyage I went up that river as far as Nenge Nenge, about seventy-five miles from the coast. I spent two days there with a white trader who had been stationed there for a year, and I was assured by him that there were no gorillas known in that part. The natives report that they have been found in the lowlands south of there in the direction of the Ogowe basin; but their reports are conflicting, and none of them, so far as I could learn, claim that he is found north of there, nor in the mountains eastward. I admit the possibility that he has been found and may yet inhabit the strip of land between this river and the Ogowe, but I repeat that there is no proof that he was ever found north of the Gaboon. With due respect to Sir Richard Owen and others who have never been in that country, I insist that they are mistaken.