the very midst of her flight a branch is
seized, the body raised, and she is seen, as if by magic, quietly seated
on it, grasping it with her feet. As suddenly she again throws herself
into action.

"The following facts will convey some notion of her dexterity and
quickness. A live bird was let loose in her apartment; she marked its
flight, made a long swing to a distant branch, caught the bird with one
hand in her passage, and attained the branch with her other hand; her
aim, both at the bird and at the branch, being as successful as if
one object only had engaged her attention. It may be added that she
instantly bit off the head of the bird, picked its feathers, and then
threw it down without attempting to eat it.

"On another occasion this animal swung herself from a perch, across a
passage at least twelve feet wide, against a window which it was thought
would be immediately broken: but not so; to the surprise of all, she
caught the narrow framework between the panes with her hand, in an
instant attained the proper impetus, and sprang back again to the cage
she had left--a feat requiring not only great strength, but the nicest
precision."

The Gibbons appear to be naturally very gentle, but there is very
good evidence that they will bite severely when irritated--a female
'Hylobates agilis' having so severely lacerated one man with her long
canines, that he died; while she had injured others so much that, by
way of precaution, these formidable teeth had been filed down; but, if
threatened, she would still turn on her keeper. The Gibbons eat insects,
but appear generally to avoid animal food. A Siamang, however, was seen
by Mr. Bennett to seize and devour greedily a live lizard. They commonly
drink by dipping their fingers in the liquid and then licking them. It
is asserted that they sleep in a sitting posture.

Duvaucel affirms that he has seen the females carry their young to the
waterside and there wash their faces, in spite of resistance and cries.
They are gentle and affectionate in captivity--full of tricks and
pettishness, like spoiled children, and yet not devoid of a certain
conscience, as an anecdote, told by Mr. Bennett (l. c. p. 156), will
show. It would appear that his Gibbon had a peculiar inclination for
disarranging things in the cabin. Among these articles, a piece of soap
would especially attract his notice, and for the removal of this he
had been once or twice scolded. "One morning," says Mr. Ben