Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom. Samuel G. Goodrich
injuries, which were grievous before he was excited to revenge; but he always avoided those who often teased him. He soon became strongly attached to those who kindly used him. By their side he was fond of sitting; and getting as close as possible to their persons, would take their hands between his lips, and fly to them for protection. From the boatswain of the Alceste, who shared his meals with him, and was his chief favorite, although he sometimes purloined the grog and the biscuit of his benefactor, he learned to eat with a spoon; and might be often seen sitting at his cabin door, enjoying his coffee, quite unembarrassed by those who observed him, and with a grotesque and sober air, that seemed a burlesque on human nature.
"On board ship he commonly slept at the masthead, after wrapping himself in a sail. In making his bed, he used the greatest pains to remove every thing out of his way that might render the surface on which he intended to lie uneven; and, having satisfied himself with this part of his arrangement, spread out the sail, and, lying down upon it on his back, drew it over his body. Sometimes I preoccupied his bed, and teased him by refusing to give it up. On these occasions he would endeavor to pull the sail from under me, or to force me from it, and would not rest till I had resigned it. If it were large enough for both, he would quietly lie by my side.
"His food in Java was chiefly fruit, especially mangostans, of which he was extremely fond. He also sucked eggs with voracity, and often employed himself in seeking them. On board ship his diet was of no definite kind. He ate readily of all kinds of meat, and especially raw meat; was very fond of bread, but always preferred fruits, when he could obtain them.
"His beverage in Java was water; on board ship, it was as diversified as his food. He preferred coffee and tea, but would readily take wine, and exemplified his attachment to spirits by stealing the captain's brandy bottle. Since his arrival in London, he has preferred beer and milk to any thing else, but drinks wine and other liquors.
"I have seen him exhibit violent alarm on three occasions only, when he appeared to seek for safety in gaining as high an elevation as possible. On seeing eight large turtles brought on board, whilst the Cæsar was off the Island of Ascension, he climbed with all possible speed to a higher part of the ship than he had ever before reached, and, looking down upon them, projected his long lips into the form of a hog's snout, uttering, at the same time, a sound which might be described as between the croaking of a frog and the grunting of a pig. After some time, he ventured to descend, but with great caution, peeping continually at the turtles, but could not be induced to approach within many yards of them. He ran to the same height, and uttered the same sounds, on seeing some men bathing and splashing in the sea; and since his arrival in England, has shown nearly the same degree of fear at the sight of a live tortoise."
This animal survived his transportation to England from August, 1817, when he arrived, to the 1st April, 1819; during which interval he was in the custody of Mr. Cross, at Exeter 'Change, as much caressed for the gentleness of his disposition as he was noticed for his great rarity. There was no need of personal confinement, and little of restraint or coercion; to his keepers, especially, and to those whom he knew by their frequent visits, he displayed a decided partiality. During his last illness, and at his death, his piteous appearance, which seemed to bespeak his entreaties to those about him for relief, did not fail to excite the feelings of all who witnessed them—an excitement evidently heightened by the recollection of human suffering under similar circumstances, which the sight of this animal so strongly brought to mind.
The Chimpansé;—a native of Guinea and Congo, in Africa. Its frame is more analogous to that of man than to that of any other tribe, and it is the only one that can walk erect with ease. It lives in troops, uses stones and clubs as weapons, and was mistaken for a species of wild man, by early voyagers along the African coast.
The Chimpansé on Board a Vessel.—M. De Grandpré, speaking of the Chimpansé, says that "his sagacity is extraordinary; he generally walks upon two legs, supporting himself with a stick. The negro fears him, and not without reason, as he sometimes treats him very roughly. He saw, on board a vessel, a female chimpansé, which exhibited wonderful proofs of intelligence. Among other arts, she had learnt to heat the oven; she took great care not to let any of the coals fall out, which might have done mischief in the ship; and she was very accurate in observing when the oven was heated to the proper degree, of which she immediately apprized the baker, who, relying with perfect confidence upon her information, carried his dough to the oven as soon as the chimpansé came to fetch him. This animal performed all the business of a sailor, spliced ropes, handled the sails, and assisted at unfurling them; and she was, in fact, considered by the sailors as one of themselves.
"The vessel was bound for America; but the poor animal did not live to see that country, having fallen a victim to the brutality of the first mate, who inflicted very cruel chastisement upon her, which she had not deserved. She endured it with the greatest patience, only holding out her hands in a suppliant attitude, in order to break the force of the blows she received. But from that moment she steadily refused to take any food, and died on the fifth day from grief and hunger. She was lamented by every person on board, not insensible to the feelings of humanity, who knew the circumstances of her fate."
The Gibbon;—a native of Sumatra, Borneo, and Malacca. The arms are of immense length, and the hands and feet are formed for clinging to the limbs of trees, where it throws itself from branch to branch with surprising agility. The expression of the face is gentle, and rather melancholy. There are many species, all of which utter loud cries.
The nimble Gibbon, at the Zoological Gardens in London.—"This specimen," says the editor of the Penny Magazine, "was a female, and had been four years in captivity at Macao, previous to her arrival in this country. On entering the apartment in which she was to be kept, where a large space, and a tree full of branches, were allotted for her accommodation, she sprang upon the tree, and, using her hands in alternate succession, she launched herself from bough to bough with admirable grace and address, sometimes to the distance of twelve or eighteen feet. Her flight might be termed aërial, for she seemed scarcely to touch the branches in her progress. It was curious to witness how abruptly she would stop in her most rapid flight. Suddenly as thought, she would raise her body, and sit quietly gazing at the astonished spectators of her gymnastics.
"She possessed great quickness of eye; and apples, and other fruit, were often thrown at her with great rapidity, but she always caught them without an effort. On one occasion, a live bird was set at liberty in her apartment. She marked its flight, made a spring to a distant branch, caught the bird with one hand, on her passage, and attained the branch with her other hand. She instantly bit off the head of the bird, picked off its feathers, and threw it down, without attempting to eat it.
"While exerting herself in feats of agility, the gibbon ever and anon uttered her call-notes, consisting of the syllables oo-ah, oo-ah, in a succession of ascending and descending semitones, during the execution of which, the lips and frame vibrated. The tones were not unmusical, but deafening, from their loudness.
"In disposition, this creature was timid, being apparently afraid of men, but allowing women to come near her, and stroke her fur, and pat her hands and feet. Her eye was quick, and she seemed to be perpetually on the watch, scrutinizing every person who entered the room. After exercising in the morning from three to four hours, she would, if allowed, spend the rest of the day quietly on one of the branches."
THE BABOON.
This is a large and ferocious species of ape, common in the south of Africa, and Asia.
Le Vaillant's Baboon.—This celebrated traveller, while in Africa, had a dog-faced baboon, whom he called Kees. He accompanied his master in his wanderings, and of his way of life we have the following sketches: "I made him," says Le Vaillant, "my taster. Whenever we found fruits, or roots, with which my Hottentots were unacquainted, we did not touch them till Kees had tasted them. If he threw them away, we concluded that they were either of a disagreeable flavor, or of a pernicious quality, and left them untasted. The ape possesses a peculiar property, wherein he differs greatly from other animals, and resembles man—namely, that he is by nature equally gluttonous and inquisitive. Without necessity, and without appetite, he tastes every thing that falls in his way, or that is given to him.
"But Kees had a still