McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 4, September 1893Various
General
McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 4, September 1893
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Literature -- Periodicals
The usual pictures of the gorilla do not represent him as I have seen
him. He has not only a crouching habit, but he walks on all four of
his legs, and has the motion of most quadrupeds, using his right arm
and left leg at the same time, and alternates with the left arm and
right leg. It is not exactly a walk or a trot, but a kind of ambling
gait, while the chimpanzee uses his arms as crutches, but lifts one
foot from the ground a little in advance of the other. They do not
place the palm of the hand on the ground, but use the back of the
fingers from the second joint, and at times the one I have described
above seemed to touch only the back of the nails, but this was when
she was scarcely moving at all. I am now preparing to photograph some
of them, and I think I can give a more reliable picture of this
animal than I have ever seen heretofore.
As to the stories about their howling all night, I would add that
there is a large bird here which makes a sound very much like one
sound made by the gorilla, and it is a very easy matter to mistake it.
When I first came I was often deceived by it myself, but now I can
detect it very easily. This bird cries at all hours, and I think it
has imposed upon the honest credulity of many strangers.
It is said that at night the king gorilla selects a large tree in
which he places his family, and then takes up position at the base of
the tree to ward off any harm during the night. I very much doubt this
story. I think it quite probable that the gorillas habitually sleep in
trees at night, but from all I can learn of the king, he looks after
his own comfort and safety first, and lets his family do as they can.
I have also heard that the king always finds a place of safety for
them before he will attack a foe, but this is not confirmed by any
fact that I can obtain. The gorilla will avoid an attack unless
surprised or wounded, and in such an event he wastes no time in
formalities.
Two stories of the gorilla are in stereotype, and every native will
furnish you with a certified copy, without the slightest variation of
the text. One is, that when a gorilla kills a man he tears open the
breast and drinks the blood of his victim; and the other, that a
gorilla seizes the barrel of a gun and crushes it with his teeth. The
uniform version of these two stories is such as to make one believe
that they have been taught by rote, and I am in doubt as to their
authorship; they have a strong tincture of the white man's yarns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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