Man's Place in Nature, and Other EssaysHuxley, Thomas Henry
Science
Man's Place in Nature, and Other Essays
Huxley, Thomas Henry
Apes; Ethnology; Human beings -- Origin; Indo-Europeans
The name of "Chimpanzee," by which one of the African Apes is now so
well known, appears to have come into use in the first half of the
eighteenth century, but the only important addition made, in that
period, to our acquaintance with the man-like apes of Africa is
contained in "A New Voyage to Guinea," by William Smith, which bears the
date 1744.
In describing the animals of Sierra Leone, p. 51, this writer says:--
"I shall next describe a strange sort of animal, called
by the white men in this country Mandrill,[7] but why it
is so called I know not, nor did I ever hear the name
before, neither can those who call them so tell, except
it be for their near resemblance of a human creature,
though nothing at all like an Ape. Their bodies, when
full grown, are as big in circumference as a middle-sized
man's--their legs much shorter, and their feet larger;
their arms and hands in proportion. The head is
monstrously big, and the face broad and flat, without any
other hair but the eyebrows; the nose very small, the
mouth wide, and the lips thin. The face, which is covered
by a white skin, is monstrously ugly, being all over
wrinkled as with old age; the teeth broad and yellow; the
hands have no more hair than the face, but the same white
skin, though all the rest of the body is covered with
long black hair, like a bear. They never go upon all
fours, like apes; but cry, when vexed or teased, just
like children....
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Facsimile of William Smith's figure of the
"Mandrill," 1744.]
"When I was at Sherbro, one Mr. Cummerbus, whom I shall
have occasion hereafter to mention, made me a present of
one of these strange animals, which are called by the
natives Boggoe: it was a she-cub, of six months' age, but
even then larger than a Baboon. I gave it in charge to
one of the slaves, who knew how to feed and nurse it,
being a very tender sort of animal; but whenever I went
off the deck the sailors began to teaze it--some loved to
see its tears and hear it cry; others hated its
snotty-nose; one who hurt it, being checked by the negro
that took care of it, told the slave he was very fond of
his country-woman, and asked him if he should not like
her for a wife? To which the slave very readily replied,
'No, this no my wife; this a white woman--this fit wife
for you.' This unlucky wit of the negro's, I fancy,
hastened its death, for next morning it was found dead
under the windlass."
William Smith's "Mandrill," or "Boggoe," as his description and figure
testify, was, without doubt, a Chimpanzee.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--The Anthropomorpha of Linnæus.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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