AFRICAN PRIZE-FIGHTERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9380, 1 June 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

AFRICAN PRIZE-FIGHTERS.

DANGER OF HUNTING THE GORILLA

IN THE FORESTS OF THE DARK

CONTINENT. " Thk gorilla is the prize-fighter of Africa," said Carl Steckeltnann, who has personal knowledge of the Dark Continent. lie had been speaking of a leopard-skiD on exhibition in his -window, and he had ben telling of the danger encountered in fighting with the original owner of the skin.

"Contests with all wild animals pale in comparinon with that in which one must engage in meeting the gorilla," he said. "The gorilla is found in only a comparatively small portion of Western Africa. He lurks in the woods along the coasts for several hundred miles north of the mouth of the Congo. I have never seen a gorilla in the open country, and, by the way, I think that the fact that he stays in the woods accounts for the fact that he is almost a biped instead of a'quadrupod. You see, the gorilla, in passing through the forests, reaches out with his long arms, and, seizing the branches of the trees, rises on his hind legs and walks on them, supporting himself with his hold on the branches. Habit has thus almost made an upright creature of him.

" The gorilla is as brave as brave can be. The male gorilla does all the fighting for the family. If you approach a pair of gorillas the female will run, screaming, through he woods, or will climb the highest tree, uttering all the while cries not unlike a woman in great fright. But the male gorilla will come straight at you. He does not know what fear is. He will fight any number of men."

" How do you fight thorn ?" " With pistols. It is very unsafe to trust to a gun or to a poor weapon of any kind. The gorilla is so fierce and powerful that you have but one chance at him at the best. The woods where he is found are so thick that it is impossible to see him accurately at any distance. If you tire at him as he comes at you down the tree a limb may turn the course of the bullet. Before you can lire a second time he will be upon you. He drops from limb to limb, and comes at a rapid swinging pace, The safest way is to hold your tire until he is at arm's length, and then lire steadily into him with a pistol. " The gorilla is easily killed. An ordinary pistol shot will have about the same effect upon him as it has upon a man. The hunter's danger is in not making the shot tell. Once 1 was passing through the forest with a bodyguard of natives. The natives are furnished by theDueh traders with a miserable gun, the barrel of which is made of gas-pipe. The natives have learned to be suspicious of their guns. When they fire at anything they point in the general direction, pull the trigger and iling the gun at the object. They throw the gun because they are afraid it will explode in their hands, jus it very frequently does. Well, we came upon a gorilla. A native saw him dropping from a tree, coming at us. Aiming at the descending form, he fired and missed. He had not turned before the grim monster was upon him. Standing and throwing his arms around the negro's neck, the gorilla seized his throat in his man-like jaws, and was crushing the life out of him when we came up and fired a pistol ball into him at close range. But the wounds inflicted were mortal, and the native died in great agony." " Arc the gorillas numerous in the strip of couutry where they are found !" " They are scarce. In making a trip once I saw two in one day, but that was unusual. They are the fiercest and bravest of animals. Tine male gorilla in going into battle sounds a terrible warning by beating his breast and giving forth sounds that make the forest resound. Me is a dangerous antagonist, and you are all the time reminded by his appearance that you are contesting with a creature that has a man's faculties and appearance, a giant's strength and a monkey's agility.