The polar and tropical worlds : a description of man and nature in the polar and equatorial regions of the globe . hen in the far distanceI spied a gorilla. It was a female, and she did not see me. I hid myself behind atree, and watched all her movements unseen. She was seated on the ground beforea cluster of pine-apples, quietly eating one. She soon threw it away, and pluckedsome of the leaves. She grinned now and then, probably from the pleasure the foodgave her; when suddenly, to my utter astonishment, a little gorilla, about two and a * Wild Life under tlie Equator, 78. GSO THE TUOrJCAL WO
The polar and tropical worlds : a description of man and nature in the polar and equatorial regions of the globe . hen in the far distanceI spied a gorilla. It was a female, and she did not see me. I hid myself behind atree, and watched all her movements unseen. She was seated on the ground beforea cluster of pine-apples, quietly eating one. She soon threw it away, and pluckedsome of the leaves. She grinned now and then, probably from the pleasure the foodgave her; when suddenly, to my utter astonishment, a little gorilla, about two and a * Wild Life under tlie Equator, 78. GSO THE TUOrJCAL WOULD. half feet in bight, came running to its mother, who gave a kind of cliucklo that verymuch resembled the click of the Bushmen of Southern Africa. I began to boterribly excited. I must kill the mother, and try to capture the young one. Unfortu-nately there were many intervening trees, and she was about a hundred yards could the bullet from my rifle reach her i I had just left my place of concealment,when she perceived me. She uttered a piercing cry, and disappeared, with her youngone following FEMALE GOKILLA AND TODNG. Du Chaillu, in his various expeditions, which occupied in all twelve years, broughtaway thirty-one gorilla skins and skeletons, captured more than a dozen young ones,and altogether saw more than three hundred of the animals. We give from his booklast cited one more picture of the domestic life of the gorilla : The bog was like one of the worst kind we have in America in the overflowedand woody land of the Western country ; only here were creepers, thorny bushes,bringing lianas, and grass that cuts like a razor. We entered the swamp, and cameto a dry spot, when we spied a female gorilla and her young baby. The baby wasvery small, and a very dear little baby it was to its mother, for she appeared to lookat it with great fondness. I was spell-bound, and could not raise my gun to fire ; therewas something too human in that mother and her offspring. I
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, books, booksubjectnaturalhistory
