Rensselaer Republican, Volume 24, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1891 — GIANT APE OF BORNEO. [ARTICLE]

GIANT APE OF BORNEO.

Interesting Facts About Able-bodied Anthropoids That Live in Trees. Washington Evening Star. 5 “My acquaintance with apes has been chiefly made in Borneo,” said Prof. Henry A. Ward, the famous natural science collector of Rochester. to a Star reporter the other day. “That great island is the home of the orang, which is the mcst arboreal of all monkeys. ’ The animals live in trees altogether, rarely, if ever, visiting the ground. It takes two good jnarksmen to shoot one, because they dodge around the tree trunks. They do all their fighting aloft, and it i”s great fun «o see them drop the arm fuls of fruit they have gathered in contests for its possession. They are plentiful in the lowlands near the coast. It is rarely that anybody ventures into the interior, because there the head hunting natives prowl.; Among them each man is required to have secured a head before he is permitted to marry, and on this account the young gentlemen savages are continually looking about for somebody t> kill. This makes traveling disagreeable.' , “One of the most noticeable features of the landscape of Borneo is

r - - ■ —w th® nests of orangs which are scattered about thickly iamong the tall trees. From their number one might get a greatly exaggerated impression of the plentifulness of the species, unless it were understood how and for what purpose these roosting places are constructed. The beasts are greatly annoyed by flies, from which they ane able to protect the front part of their bodies with their bands, but they cannot keep the vicious insects from biting them in the rear, and so they gather a quantity of leaves and branches ana make them into couches to repose against among the boughs. , A protection of this sort servejfcyery well for® while, but presently its material begins to decompose and the decaying leaves attract the flies, which the orang is so anxious to get rid of. Then he is obliged to make another nest of fresh stuff, and so he may require dozens Of them in the course of the year. Inasmuch as he does not take the trouble to remove the old ones, they remain to adorn the treetop in which he swings about.

“Orangs have a very curious method of fighting. In their, conflicts among themselves, which are frequent, their effort is always to seize the fingers of their adversaries) and bite them. A very beautiful group of these animals at the National Museum, mounted by Mr., Hornaday, admirably illustrates a typical encounter of the sort. It is owing to this method of battle that it is almost impossible to procure a skin which does not lack some of the fingers. If defending itself against a man the beast will always attempt to grab the arms of his human opponent, so as to chew off his fingers. For this purpose its jaw is excellently adapted, being enormously powerful and equipped with huge incisors. “The favorite food of the orang is theTdiirionl the most delicious in the world, uniting u<? it does the flavor of the peaeli, the pear cud the strawberry. Like most things nearly perfect, however, thi* fruit has h namely,'that it leaves a taste in the mouth the next day after !t is eaten which is more abominable than can either be described or conceived. To protect Itself from the rain the orang crooks its arms over its heact The hair on the orang’s upper arm points downward while on the lower arm it points upward, the apparent purpose ,;being to shed the rain like a thatch when the attitude I have described is assumed. ? “The other great ape which makes its home in Borneo is the gibbon, 1 which is a small animal compared!, with the orang, Weighing only about forty or fifty pounds. It is very frail in its bodily make up. The head is set squarely upon the shoulders and it looks upward. When walking on the ground it balances itself along like a walker on the tight rope. Its remarkable power of grasp and dexterity in using its hands is equally with the shape qf its cranium an index of its superior intelligence, perhaps because it is able to take hold of a greater number of things and examine them. The gibbon is a natural acrobat. Its trapeze performances in the trees are simply marvelous. . ■ =i

“The animals go in droves, whereas the orangs live in families, and one of the most interesting spectacles imaginable is to see a troop of Ahem crossing a great gap in the forby throwing themselves in succession through the air, each ono taking-a^w-ing^ortwotogatnormo-mentum before launching himself. So great is their agility that in executing feats of this sort they seem like birds. “Natives in the country inhabited by great apes regard them always as human beings of inferior types, and it is for this reason that for a long time it was found impossible to get hold of an entire gorilla skin, because the savages considered it religiously necessary to cut off the hands and feet of the animals when they killed them, just as they do with their enemies, possibly for the purpose of rendering them harmless in case they should by any chance come to life again.” To make an excellent paste that will keep, take of wheat flour one ounce, Of powdered alum one-half drachm, water eight ounces,’ oil of cloves or Wintergreen or four drops. Rub the flour and alum with water to the consistency of milk, and to do this successfully— that- is, to mix it without lumps, beginby using a few drops of water only, them adding the rest of the water until i the right consistency is gained. Too great care can not be taken in: thus mixing the paste. Now place over a moderate fire and stir constantly until the paste drops from the wooden paddles in jelly-like flakes and' has the appearance of starch. While themass is still hot add the essential oil and pour the paste into an earthenware pot or open jar. In the course of about half an hour a crust forms on the top; pour gently upon this an inch of water, more or less. When, softie of the paste is wanted decant the water, take out the quantityneeded and put some water again:om the remainder, repeating the operation each time. Paste may be kept in this way for months, and will never be troubled with flies.