The next curious animal which we shall consider, is, The Orang-Outang.—This animal is sometimes called the satyr, great ape, or man of the woods. It is a native of the warmer parts of Africa and India, as well as of some of the Indian islands, where it resides principally in woods, and is supposed to feed, like most others of this genus, on fruits. The orang-outang appears to admit of considerable variety in point of colour, size, and proportions; and there is reason to believe, that, in reality, there may be two or three kinds, which, though nearly approximated as to general similitude, are yet specifically distinct. The specimens imported into Europe have rarely exceeded the height of two or three feet, and were supposed to be young animals; but it is said the full-grown ones are, at least, six feet in height. The general colour seems to be dusky or brown, in some ferruginous or reddish brown; and in others coal-black, with the skin itself white. The face is bare; the ears, hands, and feet, nearly similar to the human, and the whole appearance such as to exhibit the most striking approximation to the human figure. The likeness, however, is only a general one, and the structure of the hands and feet, when examined with anatomical exactness, seems to prove, in the opinion of those most capable of judging with accuracy on the subject, that the animal was principally designed by nature for the quadrupedal manner of walking, and not for an upright posture, which is only occasionally assumed, and which, in those exhibited to the public, is, perhaps, rather owing to instruction, than truly natural.
The Count de Buffon, indeed, makes it one of the distinctive characters of the real or proper apes, (among which the orang-outang is the chief,) to walk erect on two legs only; and it must be granted, that these animals support an upright position much more easily and readily than most other quadrupeds, and may probably be very often seen in this attitude even in a state of nature.
The manners of the orang-outang, when in captivity, are gentle, and perfectly void of that disgusting ferocity so conspicuous in some of the larger baboons and monkeys. The orang-outang is mild and docile, and may be taught to perform, with dexterity, a variety of actions in domestic life. Thus, it has been taught to sit at table, and, in its manner of feeding and general behaviour, to imitate the company in which it was placed; to pour out tea, and drink it, without awkwardness or constraint; to prepare its bed with exactness, and compose itself to sleep in a proper manner. Such are the actions of one which was exhibited in London, in the year 1738; and the Count de Buffon relates nearly similar particulars of that which he saw at Paris.
Dr. Tyson, who, about the close of the last century, gave a very exact description of a young orang-outang, then exhibited in the metropolis, assures us, that in many of its actions it seemed to display a very high degree of sagacity, and was of a disposition uncommonly gentle; “the most gentle and loving creature that could be. Those that he knew on shipboard, he would come and embrace with the greatest tenderness, opening their bosoms, and clasping his hands about them; and, as I was informed, though there were monkeys on board, yet it was observed, he would never associate with them, and, as if nothing akin to them, would always avoid their company.”
But, however docile and gentle when taken young, and instructed in its behaviour, it is said to be possessed of great ferocity in its native state, and is considered as a dangerous animal, capable of readily overpowering the strongest man. Its swiftness is equal to its strength, and for this reason it is but rarely to be obtained in its full-grown state, the young alone being taken.
The next is, The Unicorn.—The following account is extracted from the St. James’s Chronicle of Dec. 19 to 21, 1820.
“We have no doubt that a little time will bring to light many objects of natural history, peculiar to the elevated regions of central Asia, and hitherto unknown in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, particularly in the two former. This is an opinion which we have long entertained; but we are led to the expression of it on the present occasion, by having been favoured with the perusal of a most interesting communication from Major Latter, commanding in the Rajah of Sikkim’s territories, in the hilly country east of Nepaul, addressed to Adjutant-General Nicol, and transmitted by him to the Marquis of Hastings. This important paper explicitly states, that the Unicorn, so long considered a fabulous animal, actually exists at this moment in the interior of Thibet, where it is well known to the inhabitants.
“This (we copy from the Major’s letter) is a very curious fact, and it may be necessary to mention how the circumstance became known to me. In a Thibetian manuscript, containing the names of different animals, procured the other day from the hills, the Unicorn is classed under the head of those whose hoofs are divided; it is called the One-horned Tso’-po. Upon inquiring what kind of animal it was, to our astonishment, the person who brought me the manuscript, described exactly the Unicorn of the ancients: saying, that it was a native of the interior of Thibet, about the size of a tattoo (a horse from 12 to 13 hands high,) fierce, and extremely wild; seldom, if ever, caught alive, but frequently shot; and that the flesh was used for food.
“The person (Major Latter adds) who gave me this information, has repeatedly seen these animals, and eaten the flesh of them. They go together in herds, like our wild buffaloes, and are very frequently to be met with on the borders of the great desert, about a month’s journey from Lassa, in that part of the country inhabited by the wandering Tartars. This communication is accompanied by a drawing, made by the messenger from recollection: it bears some resemblance to a horse, but has cloven hoofs, a long curved horn growing out of the forehead, and a boar-shaped tail, like that of the ‘fera monoceros,’ described by Pliny.[8] From their herding together, as the Unicorns of the scripture are said to do, as well as from the rest of the description, it is evident that this singular animal cannot be the rhinoceros, which is a solitary creature; besides that, in the Thibetian manuscript, the rhinoceros is described under the name of Servo, and classed with the elephant. Neither can it be the wild horse, well known in Thibet, for that also has a different name, and is classed in the MS. with the animals which have the hoofs undivided.—I have written (he subjoins) to the Sachia Lama, requesting him to procure me a perfect skin of the animal, with the head, horn, and hoofs; but it will be a long time before I can get it down, for they are not to be met with nearer than a month’s journey from Lassa.”
We now make a few remarks on Seals.—First, the Common Seal.