sake of reading apart from the noise of the ship; and, having satisfied himself that my pockets contained no eatables, would lie down by my side, and pulling a topsail entirely oyer him, peep from it occasionally to watch my

movements.

"His favorite amusement in Java, was in swinging from the branches of trees, in passing from one to another, and in climbing over the roofs of houses; on board, in hanging by his arms from the ropes, and in romping with the boys of the ship. He would entice them into play by striking them with his hand as they passed, and bounding from them, but allowing them to overtake him, and engage in a mock scuffle, in which he used his hands, feet, and mouth. If any conjecture could be formed from these frolics, of his mode of attacking an adversary, it would appear to be his first object to throw him down, then to secure him with his hands and feet, and then wound him with his teeth.

"On board ship, he commonly slept at the mast-head, 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 pre-occupied 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. If all the sails happened to be set, he would hunt about for some other covering, and either steal one of the sailors' jackets or shirts that happened to be drying, or empty a hammock of its blankets. Off the Cape of Good Hope, he suffered much from a low temperature, especially early in the morning, when he would descend from the mast, shivering with cold, and running up to any one of his friends, climb into their arms, and clasping them closely, derive warmth from their persons, screaming violently at any attempt to remove him.

"His food in Java was chiefly fruit, especially mangostans, of which he was extremely fond. 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.

"In his attempts to obtain food, he afforded us many opportunities of judging of his sagacity and disposition. He was always very impatient to receive it when held out to him, and became passionate when it was not soon given up; and would chase a person all over the ship to obtain it. I seldom came upon deck without sweetmeats or fruit in my pocket, and could never escape his vigilant eye. Sometimes I endeavored to evade him by ascending to the mast-head, but was always overtaken or intercepted in my progress. When he came up with me on the shrouds, he would secure

himself by one foot on the rattlings, and confine my legs with the other and one of his hands, while he rifled my pockets. If he found it impossible to overtake me, he would climb to a considerable height on the rigging, and then drop suddenly upon me. Or if, perceiving his intention, I attempted to descend, he would slide down a rope, and meet me at the bottom of the shrouds. Sometimes I fastened an orange to the end of a rope, and lowered it to the deck from the mast-head; and as soon as he attempted to seize it, drew it rapidly up. After being several times foiled in endeavoring to obtain it by direct means, he altered his plan. Appearing to care little about it, he would remove to some distance, and ascend the rigging very leisurely for some time, and then, by a sudden spring, catch the rope which held it. If defeated again by my suddenly jerking the rope, he would, at first, seem quite in despair, relinquish his effort, and rush about the rigging, screaming violently. But he would always return, and again seizing the rope, disregard the jerk, and allow it to run through his hand till within reach of the orange; but if again foiled, would come to my side, and taking me by the arm, confine it while he hauled the orange up.

"I have seen him exhibit violent alarm on two 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 of 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. He was shedding his teeth at the period of his death, which was probably promoted, if not caused by it.

Of the many attempts to transport the orang outang alive to Europe, we believe only one or two have been successful. In 1825, one was brought to Boston, from Batavia, by Captain Blanchard, but unfortunately it died in the harbor before landing. Captain Shirley, who arrived there from Batavia, in June, 1831, was more fortunate. He brought a young orang outang, which is now in good health, and has every prospect of enduring the climate. It is a female of about three years old, and was procured originally in Borneo. The interest excited in respect to this animal, as well by its own extraordinary characteristics, as by the variety of accounts that authors have given of it, has induced us to examine it with some care. We have also caused a correct likeness to be taken, which is the one at the head of the present article.

In comparing this animal with the preceding description, by Dr Abel, we find it remarkably accurate and complete. We observe that the thumb of the hinder hand has no nail, and it seems that in nine cases mentioned by Dr Abel, the same fact existed. Two instances to the contrary, however, are cited; one by Tilesius, the other by Cuvier. We also remarked that the thumb is placed nearly at right angles to the hand, inclining a little toward the wrist.

THE GIBBON, OR LONG-ARMED APE,1

ALWAYS keeps in an erect posture, even when it walks upon all fours; its arms being as long as its body and legs put together. We have seen one of these animals alive. It had no appearance of any tail; it had a circle of gray, bushy hair, all round the face, which gave it a very remarkable appearance. Its eyes were large, and sunk in its head; its face resembling that of a man, tanned, and its ears well proportioned. This ape appeared to us to be of a gentle and tractable disposition; its motions were neither rash nor precipitate. It was fed on bread, fruit, almonds, &c., and calmly received

1 Pithecus lar. The gibbons, of which there are several, have the long arms of the orang, the low forehead of the chimpansé, and callosities on the buttocks. They have no tail or cheek pouch.

the fruit that was presented to it; it was very averse to cold and wet weather, and did not long live after being brought from its native country. It is a native of the East Indies, and particularly, found along the coasts of Coromandel, Malacca, and the Molucca Islands.

THESE animals are black all over, and have two naked folds of skin on the neck, which are occasionally inflated. The hair is long and soft. They are very common in Sumatra. They are generally found assembled in large troops, conducted, it is said, by a chief, whom the Malays believe invulnerable. Thus assembled at sunrise, and again at sunset, they vie with each other in making the most dreadful cries, perfectly stunning to those accustomed to them, and frightful in the highest degree to strangers. At all other times they appear to be perfectly quiet, as long at least as they are undisturbed.

Maternal affection will triumph over every other passion, and the mother of a young one, which has been wounded, will immediately throw away her life in an attack on an enemy. This affection is also displayed under more pleasing circumstances, and their care of the persons of their young

1 Pithecus syndactylus.

by washing, rubbing, and drying them, in spite of the pettish cries and resistance of the infant siamang, is highly ludicrous and amusing.

THE MALBROUCK.1

THESE animals are found in Bengal,* where travellers inform us they plunder whole fields of grain, and plantations of sugar-canes; and while one stands sentinel on a tree, the others load themselves with the booty. But if the owner of the field or plantation appears, to interrupt their depredations, their faithful companion on the look-out, gives notice, by crying out, houp, houp, houp, which the rest perfectly understand; and, all at once, throwing down their plunder which they hold in their left hands, they scamper off upon three legs, holding the remainder in their right, and save themselves from their pursuers by climbing up trees, where they have their general abode. The females, even loaded with their young ones, clasp them close to their breast, leap like the others, from branch to branch, and escape with the rest. When it happens that they cannot find any provision in the fields, they get on the tops of houses, and, having pulled off the tiles, do great damage to the inside. They do not eat a single thing, without smelling at it for a long time beforehand; and when they have satisfied their hunger, they put the remainder in their cheek pouches, for the next day they destroy the nests of birds, and never fail to throw the eggs on the ground, when they want appetite or inclination to eat them.

The most formidable enemy these animals have, is the serpent; no other animal of the forest being able to surprise them, as they are so exceedingly swift and subtle, and easily climb up and seat themselves on the tops of the highest trees. The monkey, (says a traveller,) has it in his power to be master of the forest; for there are neither tigers nor lions which can dispute the possession with it. The chief animal it has to fear, and which attacks it both night and day, is the snake. There are some snakes in those forests of a prodigious size, which wind up the trees where the monkeys reside, f and, when they happen to surprise them sleeping, swallow them whole before the little animals have time to make a defence.

The malbrouck has pouches on each side of its cheeks, and callosities on

1 Cercocebus cynosurus. The Cercocebus is a sub-genus of the Cercopithecus, which includes Simia with four upper and four lower incisors; canines, two upper and two lower; molars, ten upper and ten lower. Canines a little projecting, with intermediate spaces for their reception; posterior molars with only four tubercles. Head rounded; facial angle, forty-five to fifty degrees; ears sometimes rounded, sometimes slightly angular; thumbs distinct, more or less approaching to the fingers; cheek pouches; callosities on the buttocks, with the exception of one species; tail as long at least as the body, often turned up on the back.

* Some later naturalists are of opinion, that the malbrouck is not a native of India, but of Africa.