Quadrupeds: or, outlines of a popular history of the class mammalia; with a particular notice of those mentioned in Scripture.

  • Religious Tract Society
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Quadrupeds: or, outlines of a popular history of the class mammalia; with a particular notice of those mentioned in Scripture. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/176 (page 9)
    aCTADRUMANA.] the liberty of going to the same place alone every morning for his breakfast, which was given with¬ out hesitation; and thus he contracted a bill which the captain had to discharge. As a favourite he indulged the licence of his charac¬ ter, and would at any time make free with the blankets of a sailor’s hammock, converting them into a snug bed for himself; nor would he give them up without a struggle for the right of pro¬ perty. He was active to an amazing degree, and his strength was very great; for, young as he was, it required more than the power of one man to force asunder his grasp : his energies, how¬ ever, were only exerted in play. There was but one person on board to whom he betrayed any antipathy ; that was the butcher, for whom he entertained extreme terror, perhaps from having frequently seen him kill the animals for provision. He would approach that man with timid caution, minutely examine his hands finger by finger, and then endeavour to gain some friendly notice ; but, on the least suspicious movement, or the sight of the knife, he would fly for refuge to some of his especial protectors, among whom he dis¬ tinguished the cook. On arriving at our shore, the poor Orang began to pine and sicken, and, if raised up to take food, uttered a plaintive feeble cry, expressive of a desire to be undisturbed. After lingering a few days, he expired. This animal is also among the splendid collection in the Museum of the Zoological Society. The Orang-outan has been often confounded with other large species, and especially with one from Africa, the Chimpanse, (Simia niger, or Homo troglodytes of Linn.) sometimes called the African Orang. Of this animal in the adult age little or nothing is known. Two or three fine skeletons exist (one of which the author has personally inspected) which present anatomical differences between this and the Asiatic, or true Simla Satyrus. A young Chimpanse died in the possession of Mr. Cross ; and a young specimen is also pre¬ served in the Museum of the Zoological Society. The hair is black ; the ears large ; the proportion of the limbs is more human-like, the arms being shorter, and the lower extremities larger, than in the Simia Satyrus : the thumb of the hind foot is also much more developed ; and, with the assistance of a stick, the Chimpanse is, we be¬ lieve, capable of walking for a short time in the upright position. On the whole, it is less decidedly formed as a climbing animal; but of its native manners we have only a few scanty accounts, mixed with much exaggeration. Next on the scale to the orang succeed the Gibbons, or Long-armed Apes, {Hylobates,') be¬ tween which and the former there exist but few points of diff’erence. One species, at least, is furnished with a membranous sac communicat¬ ing with the larynx: all want the tail and the cheek-pouches, which so peculiarly characterise the monkeys of the old world in general, from which they are further distinguished by their gravity and mildness of manners. Their native locality is confined to India and the large islands of the Indian Archipelago. As illustrative of the group, and as, at the same time, the rarest and most interesting, we select for our readers the Ungka Ape of Sumatra. (Hylohaics syndac- tylus, III.) (See Engraving, No. 2.) This sin¬ gular animal inhabits the deep recesses of the I woods which cover so large a portion of the islands of India, and, as far as we know, has never been brought alive to our British shores. Speci¬ mens of its sk.in, however, were brought over in the collection of the late Sir Stamford Raffles. In the gravity of its manners, and the mildness of its temper, it much resembles the orang-outan; but is considerably smaller in size, the total length of the adult, when standing upright, being about two feet four inches : its arms, however, have a disproportionate length to its stature, their span extending four feet. Except on the face and palms, the animal is entirely covered with stiff hair, of a beautiful jet black; the skin beneath, as well as on the face, being of the same colour. The legs have the characteristic shortness which we see in the orang; the feet, which are long and well adapted for grasping, have the first and second toes closely united by a membrane as far as the last joint. It is, however, a better walker than the orang, and on a flat surface can manage to proceed in the erect position ; but the gait is unsteady, and the hands are frequently placed upon the ground to assist in progression ; but should the hands be not thus engaged, the arms are elevated perpendicularly over the head, with the hands depending from the wrist, as if to preserve the balance of the body, or to be in readiness for seizing any object above and within reach. The eyes are dark hazel; the ears small; the air sac extends beneath the skin of the throat, from the chin to the breast-bone, but when uninflated is not manifest externally; it is dis¬ tended when the animal is angry, at which times it utters a hollow barking noise, a tone apparently influenced by this apparatus. In one of the volumes of the Magazine of Natural History, an account is given of the habits and manners of an adult male of this species, which died on board the ship Sophia during her homeward passage, in 1830, and from which we learn that, although its favourite food was rice, plantains, carrots, sweet¬ meats, and onions, animal food was also eagerly accepted, fowls being especially preferred: “ but a lizard having been caught on board, and placed before him, he took it immediately in his paw, and greedily devoured it.” Spirits and wine he refused: he would, however, drink tea, coffee, and chocolate. His temper was mild, affectionate, and in general not easily ruffled ; when pleased, he would utter a chirping note; when irritated, a hollow barking noise ; but when frightened or angry, the loud guttural sounds of ra ra ra were frequently repeated. The only annoyance he occasioned on board by his tricks resulted from his fondness for ink ; he would drain the ink- stand, and suck the pens as often as an oppor¬ tunity was presented to him. Would that all in the use to which they have applied this fluid had done as little mischief! Cheerful and very fond of play, he preferred children to adults, and became particularly at¬ tached to a little Papuan girl, called Elau, a native of Erromango, one of the New Hebrides. They were often seen sitting near the capstan, the animal with its long paw round her neck, lovingly eating biscuit together. With this child