l the monkey
tribe, and their motions are surprisingly awkward and uncouth."--Sir
James Brooke, in the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society', 1841.]

[Footnote 21: Mr. Wallace's account of the progression of the Orang
almost exactly corresponds with this.]

[Footnote 22: Sir James Brooke, in a letter to Mr. Waterhouse, published
in the proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1841, says:--"On the
habits of the Orangs, as far as I have been able to observe them, I may
remark that they are as dull and slothful as can well be conceived, and
on no occasion, when pursuing them, did they move so fast as to preclude
my keeping pace with them easily through a moderately clear forest; and
even when obstructions below (such as wading up to the neck) allowed
them to get away some distance, they were sure to stop and allow me to
come up. I never observed the slightest attempt at defence, and the wood
which sometimes rattled about our ears was broken by their weight, and
not thrown, as some persons represent. If pushed to extremity, however,
the 'Pappan' could not be otherwise than formidable, and one unfortunate
man, who, with a party, was trying to catch a large one alive, lost two
of his fingers, besides being severely bitten on the face, whilst the
animal finally beat off his pursuers and escaped." Mr. Wallace, on the
other hand, affirms that he has several times observed them throwing
down branches when pursued. "It is true he does not throw them 'at' a
person, but casts them down vertically; for it is evident that a bough
cannot be thrown to any distance from the top of a lofty tree. In one
case a female Mias, on a durian tree, kept up for at least ten minutes a
continuous shower of branches and of the heavy, spined fruits, as large
as 32-pounders, which most effectually kept us clear of the tree she
was on. She could be seen breaking them off and throwing them down with
every appearance of rage, uttering at intervals a loud pumping grunt,
and evidently meaning mischief."--"On the Habits of the Orang-Utan,"
'Annals of Nat. History, 1856. This statement, it will be observed, is
quite in accordance with that contained in the letter of the Resident
Palm quoted above (p. 210).]

[Footnote 23: On the Orang-Utan, or Mias of Borneo, 'Annals of Natural
History', 1856.]

[Footnote 24: Notice of the external characters and habits of
Troglodytes Gorilla. 'Boston Journal of Natural History', 1847.]

End of the Project Gute