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
"In a recent case, the mother, when discovered, remained
upon the tree with her offspring, watching intently the
movements of the hunter. As he took aim, she motioned
with her hand, precisely in the manner of a human being,
to have him desist and go away. When the wound has not
proved instantly fatal, they have been known to stop the
flow of blood by pressing with the hand upon the part,
and when this did not succeed, to apply leaves and
grass.... When shot, they give a sudden screech, not
unlike that of a human being in sudden and acute
distress."
The ordinary voice of the Chimpanzee, however, is affirmed to be hoarse,
guttural, and not very loud, somewhat like "whoo-whoo" (l. c. p. 365).
The analogy of the Chimpanzee to the Orang, in its nest-building habit
and in the mode of forming its nest, is exceedingly interesting; while,
on the other hand, the activity of this ape, and its tendency to bite,
are particulars in which it rather resembles the Gibbons. In extent of
geographical range, again, the Chimpanzees--which are found from Sierra
Leone to Congo--remind one of the Gibbons, rather than of either of
the other man-like Apes; and it seems not unlikely that, as is the case
with the Gibbons, there may be several species spread over the
geographical area of the genus.
The same excellent observer, from whom I have borrowed the preceding
account of the habits of the adult Chimpanzee, published, fifteen years
ago,[24] an account of the GORILLA, which has, in its most essential
points, been confirmed by subsequent observers, and to which so very
little has really been added, that in justice to Dr. Savage I give it
almost in full.
"It should be borne in mind that my account is based upon
the statements of the aborigines of that region (the
Gaboon). In this connection, it may also be proper for me
to remark, that having been a missionary resident for
several years, studying, from habitual intercourse, the
African mind and character, I felt myself prepared to
discriminate and decide upon the probability of their
statements. Besides, being familiar with the history and
habits of its interesting congener (_Trog. niger_,
Geoff.), I was able to separate their accounts of the two
animals, which, having the same locality and a similarity
of habit, are confounded in the minds of the mass,
especially as but few--such as traders to the interior
and huntsmen--have ever seen the animal in question.
"The tribe from which our knowledge of the animal is
derived, and whose territory forms its habitat, is the
_Mpongwe_, occupying both banks of the River Gaboon, from
its mouth to some fifty or sixty miles upward....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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