Gorillas & Chimpanzees

Although it did not result in getting a good picture, I do not regard the effort as a failure. It shows at least that such a thing is possible, and by careful efforts often repeated it could be made a means of obtaining some novel pictures. A little ingenuity would widen the scope of this device, and make it possible to photograph birds, elephants, and everything else in the forest. When I return to that place on a like journey, I shall carry the scheme into better effect.

CHAPTER XVII

OTHER APES

In the various records that constitute the history of these apes are found many novel and incoherent tales, but all of them appear to rest upon some basis of truth. In order to arrive at some more definite knowledge concerning them, we may review the data at our command. The first record in the annals of the world that alludes to these man-like apes, is that of Hanno, who made a voyage from Carthage to the west coast of Africa, nearly 500 years before the Christian era. He described an ape which was found in the locality about Sierra Leone. It is singular that the description which he gave of those apes should coincide so fully with those known of the present day, but to my mind it is quite certain that the ape of which he gives an account was neither a gorilla nor chimpanzee, nor is there anything to show that either of these ever occupied that part of the world, or that any similar type has done so. It is clear from the evidence that the ape described by him was not an anthropoid, but was the large, dog-faced monkey technically called cynocephalus. These animals are found all along the north coast of the Gulf of Guinea, but there is not a trace of any true ape along it north of Cameroon River, which empties into the sea about 4° north of the equator. Here begins the first trace of the chimpanzee. In passing along the windward coast, casual reports are current to the effect that gorillas and chimpanzees occupy the interior north of there; but when these reports are sifted down to solid facts, it always turns out to be a big baboon or monkey upon which the story rests. Its likeness to man as described by Hanno was doubtless the work of fancy, and the name troglodytes which he gave to it shows that he knew but little of its habits, or cared but little for the exactness of his statements.

The account given by Henry Battel, in 1590, contains a thread of truth woven into a web of fantasy. He must have heard the stories he relates, or seen the specimens along the coast north of the Congo, and there are certain facts which point to this conclusion. The name pongo which he gave to one of them belongs to the Fiot tongue, which is spoken by the native tribes around Loango. Those people apply the name to the gorilla, and is commonly understood to be synonymous with the name njina, used by the tribes north of there, and always applied to the gorilla. To me, however, it appears to coincide with the name ntyii as used by the Esyira people for another ape which is described in the chapter devoted to gorillas. It was from Loango that Dr. Falkenstein secured an ape under that name in 1876. It is singular that Baron Wurmb, in 1780, makes use of this same name pongo for an orang. I have not been able to learn where he acquired this name, but it appears to be a native Fiot name, and the history of their language is fairly well known for more than 400 years. The other name "Enjocko," given by Battel to the other ape, is beyond a doubt a corruption of the native name ntyigo (ntcheego), and this name belongs north of the Congo from Mayumba to Gaboon. He may have inferred that these apes occupied Angola, but there is not a vestige of proof that any ape exists in that part of Africa. Even the native tribes of that part have no indigenous name for either one of these apes. Other parts of his account are erroneous, and while he may have believed that those apes "go in bodies to kill many natives that travel in the wood," and the natives may have told him such a thing, the apes do not practise such a habit. With all their sagacity they have no idea of the unity of action. If a band of them were attacked, they would no doubt act together in their defence, but it is not to be believed that they ever preconcert any plan of attack. Neither do these apes ever assault elephants. He is one animal they hold in mortal dread. I have incidentally mentioned elsewhere the conduct of my two kulus on board the ship when they saw a young elephant. Chico, the big ape that has also been mentioned, was often vicious and stubborn. Whenever he refused to obey his keeper or became violent, an elephant was brought in sight of his cage. On seeing it he became as docile as a lamb, and showed every sign of the most intense fear. Mr. Bailey himself told me of the dread both of his apes had for an elephant. Battel was also wrong in the mode he described of the mother carrying its young, and the apes using sticks or clubs.

The ape known as "Mafuka," which was exhibited in Dresden in 1875, was also brought from the Loango coast, and it is possible that this is the ape to which the native name pongo really belonged. This specimen in many respects conforms to the description of the ntyii given, but the idea suggested by certain writers that "Mafuka" was a cross between the gorilla and chimpanzee is not, to my mind, a tenable supposition. It would be difficult to believe that two apes of different species in a wild state would cross, but to believe that two that belonged to different genera would do so is even more illogical.

I may state here, however, again that some of the Esyira people advance such a theory concerning the ntyii, but the belief is not general, and those best skilled in woodcraft regard them as distinct species.

To quote, in pidjin English, the exact version of their relationship as it was given to me by my interpreter while in that country, may be of interest to the reader. I may remark, by way of explaining the nature of pidjin English, that it is a literal translation of the native mode of thought into English words. The statement was:

"Ntyii be one: njina be one: all two be one, one. Nytii 'e one mudder: jnina 'e one mudder: all two 'e one, one. Nytii 'e one fader: njina all same 'e one fader, 'e one. 'E all two one fader." By which the native means to say that the nytii has one mother and the njina has one mother, so that the two have two mothers, but both have one father, therefore they are half-brothers.

The other version given in denial of this statement was as follows:

"Nytii 'e one mudder: njina 'e one mudder. 'E one, one. Nytii 'e one fader: njina 'e one fader. 'E be one, one. All two 'e one, one. Nytii 'im mudder, njina 'im mudder. 'E brudder. Nytii 'im fader, njina 'im fader 'e brudder. All two 'e one, one."

The translation of this elegant speech is, that the nytii has a mother, and the njina has a mother which are not the same but sisters. The nytii has a father, and the njina has a father which are not the same, but are brothers, and therefore the two apes are only cousins, which in the native esteem is a remote degree of kinship.

The ape described by Lopez certainly belonged to the territory north of the Congo, which coast he explored, and gave his name to a cape about forty miles south of the equator, and it still bears the name Cape Lopez. At that time, however, it is probable that most of the low country now occupied by these apes was covered with water; that the lakes of that region were then all embraced in one great estuary, reaching from Fernan Vaz to Nazareth Bay, and extending eastward to the Foot hills below Lamberene. There is abundant evidence to show that such a state has once existed there, but it is not probable that these apes have ever changed their latitude.

The name "soko" appears to be a local name for the ordinary type of chimpanzee found throughout the whole range of their domain, and known in other parts by other names.

In Malimbu the name "kulu" appears to apply to the same species, while in the south-western part of their habitat that name, coupled with the verb "kamba," is confined strictly to the other type. Along the northern borders of the district to which that species belongs, but where he is very seldom found and little known to the natives, he is called Mkami tribe, "kanga ntyigo," to distinguish him from the common variety to which the latter name only is applied.

The etymology of the name kanga as applied to this ape is rather obscure. In common use it is a verb with the normal meaning to "parch" or "fry," and hence the secondary meaning to "prepare." Since this ape is said to be of a higher order of the race, the term is used to signify that he is "better prepared" than the other. That is to say, he is prepared to think and talk in a better manner.

Another history of this word appears to be more probable. The ape to which the name is applied lives between the Mkami country and the Congo, and the name is possibly a perversion of kongo, and implies the kind of ntyigo that lives towards the great river of that name. The etymology of African names is always difficult because there is no record of them, but many of them can be traced out with great precision, and some of them are unique.

The name M'Bouvé, as given by Du Chaillu, I have not been able to identify. In one part of the country I was told that the word meant the "chief" or head of a family. In another part it was said to mean something like an advocate or champion, and was only applied to one ape in a family group. The Rev. A. C. Goode, a zealous missionary who recently died near Batanga, was stationed for twelve years at Gaboon. During that time he travelled all through the Ogowe and Gaboon valleys. He was familiar with the languages of that part, and he explained the word in about the same way.

Whatever may be said concerning the veracity of Paul Du Chaillu, there is one thing that must be said to his credit. He gave to the world more knowledge of these apes than all other men put together had ever done before, and while he may have given a touch of colour to many incidents, and related some native yarns, he told a vast amount of valuable truth, and I can forgive him for anything which he may have misstated, except one. That is starting that story about gorillas chewing up gun-barrels. It has been a staple yarn in stock ever since, and the instant you ask a native any question about the habits of a gorilla he begins with this.

In view of the fact that I have made careful and methodic efforts to determine the exact boundary of the habitat and the real habits of these two apes, I feel at liberty to speak with an air of authority. I have acquired my knowledge on the subject by going to their own country and living in their own jungle, and I have thus obtained their secrets from first hands. With due respect to those who write books and speak freely upon subjects of which they know but little, I beg leave to suggest that if the authors had gone into the jungle and lived among those animals instead of consulting others who know less than themselves about it, many of them would have written in a very different strain. I do not mean this as a rebuke to any one, but seeing the same old stories repeated year after year, and knowing that there is no truth in them, I feel it incumbent as a duty to challenge them.

I believe that in the future it will be shown that there are two types of gorilla as distinct from each other as the two chimpanzees now known. This second variety of gorilla will be found between the third and fifth parallels south and east of the delta district, but west of the Congo. I believe it was represented in the ape "Mafuka." My researches among the apes have been confined chiefly to the two kinds heretofore described, but I have seen and studied in a superficial way the orang and the gibbon. I am not prepared as yet to discuss the habits of those two apes, but as they form a part of the group of anthropoids we cannot dismiss them without honourable mention.

The orang-outan, as he is called in his own country, is known to zoology by the first of these terms alone. He is a native of Borneo and Sumatra, and opinions differ as to whether there are two species or only one.

The general plan of the skeleton of the orang is very much the same as in the other apes. The chief points of difference are that it has one bone more in the wrist and one joint less in the spinal column than is found in man. He has thirteen pairs of ribs, which appear to be more constant in their number than in man. His arms are longer and his legs shorter in proportion to his body than the other two apes. The type of the skull is peculiar, and combines to a certain extent more human-like form in one part with a more beast-like form in another. The usual height of an adult male is about fifty-one inches.

I have never had an opportunity of studying this ape in a wild state, and have only had access to four of them in captivity, all of which were young and most of them inferior specimens. He is the most obtuse or stupid of the four great apes. And were it not for his skeleton alone he would be assigned a place below the gibbon, for in point of speech and mental calibre he is far inferior. The best authorities perhaps upon the habits of this ape in a wild state are Messrs. W. T. Horniday and R. A. Wallace.

The first and last in order of the anthropoid apes is the gibbon; he is much smaller in size, greater in variety, and more active than any other of the group. His habitat is in the south-east of Asia; its outline is vaguely defined, but it includes the Malayan Peninsula and many of the contiguous islands east and south of it.

The skeleton of the gibbon is the most delicate and graceful in build of all the apes, and in this respect is as far superior to man as man is to the gorilla, except for the long arms and digits. He is the only one of the four that can walk in an erect position, but in doing this the gibbon is awkward, and often uses his arms to balance himself, sometimes by touching his hands to the ground, or at other times raising them above his head or extending them on either side. The length of them is such that he can touch the fingers to the ground while the body is nearly if not quite erect. In the spinal column he has two and sometimes three sections more than man. His digits are very much longer, but his legs are nearly the same length in proportion to his body as those of man. He has fourteen pairs of ribs.

The gibbon is the most active, if not the most intelligent, of all apes. He is more arboreal in habit than any other. Many wonderful stories are told of his agility in climbing and leaping from limb to limb. One authentic report credits one of these apes with leaping a distance of forty-two feet from the limb of one tree to that of another. Perhaps a better term is to call it swinging rather than leaping, as these flights are performed by the arms. Another account is, that one swinging by one hand propelled himself a horizontal distance of eighteen feet through the air, seizing a bird in flight, and alighting safely upon another limb with his prey in hand.

There are several of this ape known, the largest of which is about three feet high, but the usual height is not more than thirty inches. The voice of one species is remarkable for its strength, scope and quality above all other apes. Most of the members of this genus are endowed with better vocal qualities than other animals. This ends the list of the man-like apes, and next in order after them come the monkeys, but we will deal with that subject more at length at some future time.

The descent, as we have elsewhere observed, from the highest ape to the lowest monkey presents one unbroken scale of imbricating planes; and we have seen in what degree man is related to the higher ape. From whence we may discern in what degree his physical nature is the same as that of all the order to which he belongs. No matter in what respect he may differ in his mental and moral nature, his likeness to them should at least restrain his pride, evoke his sympathy, and share the bounty of his benevolence. Let man realise to its full extent that he is one in nature with the rest, and they will receive the benign influence of his dignity without impairing it, while he will elevate himself by having given it.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE TREATMENT OF APES IN CAPTIVITY

In conclusion, I deem it in order to offer a few remarks with regard to the causes of death among these apes, and to the proper treatment of the animals in captivity. We know so little and assume so much concerning them that we often violate the very laws under which they live.

We have already noticed the fact that the gorilla is confined by nature to a low, humid region, reeking with miasma and the effluvia of decaying vegetation. The atmosphere in which he thrives is one in which human life can hardly exist. We know in part why man cannot live in such an atmosphere and under such conditions, but we cannot say with certainty why the ape does do so. It would seem that the very element that is fatal to the life of man gives strength and vitality to the gorilla.

We know that all forms of animal life are not affected in the same way by the same things, and while it may be said in round numbers that whatever is good for man is good for apes also, it is not a fact.

The human race is the most widely distributed of any genus of mammals and, as a race, can undergo the greatest extremes of change in climate, food and other conditions of any other animal. His migratory habits, both inherent and acquired, have fitted him for a life of vicissitudes, and such a life inures him as an individual to all extremes. On the other hand, the gorilla, as a genus, is confined to a small habitat, which is uniform in climate, products and topography; and having been so long restricted to these conditions he is unfitted for like changes, and when such are forced upon him the result must always be to his injury.

In certain parts of the American tropics there is found a rich, grey moss growing in great profusion in certain localities and on certain kinds of trees. It is not confined to any certain level, but thrives best on the lowest elevations. Under favourable conditions it will grow at altitudes far above the surrounding swamps. The character and quantity, however, are measured by the altitude at which it grows. It is an aerial plant, and may be detached from the boughs of one tree and transplanted upon those of another. It may be taken with safety for a great distance so long as an atmosphere is supplied to it that is suited to its nature; but when removed from its normal conditions and placed in a purer air it begins to languish and soon dies. If it be returned in time, however, to its former place or one of like character it will revive and continue to grow.

What element this plant extracts from the impure air is a matter of doubt; but it cannot be carbonic acid gas which is the chief food of plants, nor it cannot be any form of nitrogen; and it is well known that the plant cannot long survive in a pure atmosphere. Whatever the ingredient extracted may be, it is certain that it is one that is deadly to human life, and one which other plants refuse. Moisture and heat alone cannot account for it.

We have another striking instance in the eucalyptus, which lives upon the poison of the air around it. There are many other cases in vegetable life, and while the animal is a higher organism than the plant, there are certain laws of life that obtain in both kingdoms which are the same in principle.

Between the case of the gorilla and that of the plant there is some analogy. It may not be the same element that sustains them both, but it is possible that the very microbes which germinate disease and prove fatal to man sustain the life of the ape in the prime of health. The poison which destroys life in man preserves it in the ape.

The chimpanzee is distributed over a much greater range, and is capable of undergoing a much greater degree of change in food and temperature. The history of these apes in captivity shows that the chimpanzee lives much longer in that state and requires much less care. From my own observation I assert that all of these apes can undergo a greater range of temperature than they can of humidity. This appears to be one of the essential things to the life of a gorilla, and one fatal mistake made in treating him is furnishing him with a dry, warm atmosphere, and depriving him of the poison contained in the malarious air in which he spends his entire life. Both of these apes need humidity. The chimpanzee will live longer than a gorilla in a dry air, but neither of them can long survive it, and it would appear that a salt atmosphere is best for the gorilla.

I believe that one of these apes could be kept in good condition for any length of time if he were supplied with a normal humidity in an atmosphere laden with miasma and allowed to vary in temperature. A constant degree of heat is not good for any animal, there is nowhere in all the earth that nature sustains a uniform degree of it. We need not go to either extreme, but a change is requisite to bring into play all the organs of the body.

The theory of their treatment which I would advance is to build them a house entirely apart from that of any other animal. It should be 18 or 20 feet wide by 35 or 40 long, and at least 15 feet high. It should have no floor except earth, and that should be of sandy loam or vegetable mould. In one end of this building there should be a pool of water 12 or 15 feet in diameter, and embedded in the mould under the water should be a steam coil to regulate the temperature as might be desired. In this pool should be grown a dense crop of water plants such as are found in the marshes of the country in which the gorilla lives. This pool should not be cleaned out or the water changed, but the plants should be allowed to grow and decay in a natural way. Neither the pool nor the house should be kept at a uniform heat, but allowed to vary from 60 to 90 degrees.

In addition to the things mentioned, the place should be provided with the means of giving it a spray of tepid water, which should be turned on once or twice a day, and allowed to continue for at least an hour at a time. The water for this purpose should be taken from the pool, but should never be warmer than the usual temperature of tropical rain. The animal should not be required to take a bath in this way, but should be left to his own choice about it.

The house should be separated by a thin partition that could be removed at will, and the other end of the building from the pool should be occupied by a strong tree, either dead or alive, to afford the inmates proper exercise. The rule that visitors or strangers should not annoy or tease them should be enforced without respect to person, time, or rank. No visitor should be allowed on any terms to give them any kind of food. The reasons for these precautions are obvious to any one familiar with the keeping of animals, but in the case of a gorilla their observance cannot be waived with impunity.

The south side of the house should be of glass, and at least half of the top should be of the same. These parts should be provided with heavy canvas curtains, to be drawn over them so as to adjust or regulate the sunlight. In summer-time the building should be kept quite open so as to admit air and rain. The ape does not need to be pampered: on the contrary, he should be permitted to rough it. Half of the gorillas that have ever been in captivity have died from over-nursing. By nature they are strong and robust if the proper conditions are supplied, but when these are changed he becomes a frail and tender creature. They should not be restricted to a vegetable diet nor limited to a few articles of food of any kind, but should be allowed to select such things as they prefer to eat. I have grave doubts as to the wisdom of limiting the quantity. One mistake is often committed in the treatment of animals, and that is to continue the same diet at all times and limit that to one or two items. It may be observed that the higher the form of organism is the more diverse the taste becomes, and while very hardy animals or those of low forms may be restricted to one staple kind of food, the higher forms demand a change.