CHAPTER XXII
Othello and Other Gorillas—Othello and Moses—Gorilla Visitors—Gorilla Mother and Child—Scarcity of Gorillas—Unauthentic Tales
While I was living in my cage in the jungle I secured the young gorilla to whom I gave the name Othello. He was about six months old, strong, hardy, and robust. I found him to be a fine subject for study and made the best use of him for that purpose. I have elsewhere described his character, but his illness and death are matters of interest.
At noon on the day of his decease he appeared to be quite well and in fine humor. He was turning somersaults and playing like a child with a native boy. He evinced much interest in his play, and his actions indicated that it gave him pleasure; but his face never once betrayed the fact. It was amusing to see him with the actions of a romping child and the face of a cynic.
He was supplied with plenty of his favorite food, had a good appetite, and ate with a relish. Just after noon I sent the boy on an errand. Near the middle of the afternoon I observed that Othello was ill. He declined to eat or drink and lay on his back on the ground, with his arms under his head as a pillow. I tried to induce him to walk with me, to play, or to sit up, but he refused. By four o’clock he was very ill. He rolled from side to side and groaned in evident pain. He kept one hand upon his stomach, where the pain appeared to be located. He displayed all the symptoms of gastric poisoning, and I have reason to believe now that the boy had given him poison. I should regret to foster this suspicion against an innocent person, but it is based upon certain facts that I have learned since that time.
While I sat in my cage watching Othello, who lay on the ground a short distance away, I discovered a native approaching him from the jungle. The man had an uplifted spear in his hand, as if in the act of hurling it at something. He had not seen me, but it did not for a moment occur to me that he had designs upon my pet. I spoke to him in the native language, whereupon he explained that he had seen the young gorilla and suspected that there was an old one close at hand, and being in fear of an attack, he was prepared. He said he was not afraid of a little one, but desired to capture him. I informed him that the gorilla was ill. He made an examination and assured me that Othello would die.
The man departed, and Othello continued to grow worse. His sighing and groaning were really touching. I gave him an emetic, which produced good results. I also used some vaporoles to resuscitate him, but my skill was not sufficient to meet the demands of his case. His conduct was so like that of a human being that it deeply impressed me, and being alone with him in the silence of the dreary forest at the time of his death, the scene had a touch of sadness that impressed me with a deeper sense of its reality. Moses watched the dying ape as if he knew what death meant. He showed no signs of regret, but his manner was such as to suggest that he knew it was a trying hour.
Othello died just before sunset, but for a long time prior to this he was unconscious. The only movements made by him were spasmodic actions caused by pain. The fixed and vacant stare of his eyes in his last hour was so like that of man in the hour of dissolution that no one could look upon the scene and fail to realize the solemn fact that this was death. The next day I dissected him and prepared the skin and the skeleton to bring home with me. They are now, with those of Moses and others, in the Museum of the University of Toronto.
When I first secured this ape and brought him to my house in the bush, he was placed on the ground a few feet from my cage. Near him were laid some bananas and sugarcane belonging to Moses, who had not yet seen the stranger. The gorilla was in a box with one side open, so that he could easily be seen. My purpose was to see how each would act on discovering the other. When Moses observed the food he proceeded to help himself. On seeing the gorilla he paused a moment and gave me an alarm. He was not himself deterred from taking a banana. He seized one and retreated. While he was eating the banana, I took the gorilla from the cage and set him on the ground by it. I petted him and gave him some food. Moses looked on but did not interfere.
When I returned to my cage Moses proceeded to investigate the new ape. He approached slowly and cautiously within about three feet of it. He walked around the gorilla a couple of times, keeping his face towards it, and gradually getting a little nearer. At length he came up within a few inches of one side of the gorilla and stopped. He stood almost on tiptoe, with only the ends of his fingers touching the ground. The gorilla continued to eat his food without so much as giving Moses a look. Moses placed his mouth near the ear of the gorilla and gave one terrific yell. The gorilla did not flinch or even turn his eyes. Moses stood for a moment looking as if in surprise that he had made no impression. After this time he made some friendly overtures to the gorilla, but the latter did not entertain them with favor, beyond maintaining terms of peace. They never quarreled, but Othello always treated Moses as an inferior. I do not know if he entertained a real feeling of contempt, but his manner was haughty and condescending.