ADVENTURES WEIRD AND WONDERFUL.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 24, Issue 17, 4 March 1913, Page 2

ADVENTURES WEIRD AND WONDERFUL.

A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE WITH TWO MAN-MONKEYS.

Seldom has a man started upon a ■more adventurous mission than that undertaken a few years ago hy Mr. Charles Mayer, the agent of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, and seldom has a mission in the interests :oi science had such a tragic ending. Indeed, Mr. Mayer, who has spent many years of his life in the Malay Archipelago, obtaining wild beasts for various zoological societies, and carrying his life in his hands again and again, confesses that he was never so near death as when he captured two of the biggest orangoutangs ever seen in Borneo. The character and savngencss of these huge man-monkeys, one of whom required a cage 6ft. high to stand up in, may be gathered from the fact that they had terrorised the district round about Sikip, on the Landak River, in Dutch Borneo. The natives were afraid to move from their huts, and when Mr. Mayer, who, having heard of the brutes, determined to catch them alive, arrived, they hailed him with delight. The danger of his enterprise may be better understood, perhaps, when the enormous, strength, cunning, and. agility of these man-monkeys is described.

NO HOPE OF ESCAPE.

An orang’s arms are extremely long and powerful, measuring, when extended, almost double his height. The great brutes swing from tree to tree with marvellous rapedity—in fact as fast as a horse can run. Descending noiselessly from, an upper branch to a lower, they hang by one arm and grasp their unsuspecting victim by the other. Once in an orang’a grip, should he be a full-grown one, there is very little hope or chance cf escape for the hapless victim, as their strength is so immense that a man caught by the neck would be dead dn a few seconds. They can bend an inch bar of steel as easily as a man can a wax match. Their attack is swift, and if. molested on the ground they will, turn and shoot out their enormously long arms, grasping their victim and drawing him towards them, biting him through the shoulder-blade and neck, so that death is almost instantaneous. Mr. Mayer’s plan for the capture of the orang-outangs were exceedingly ingenious, and succeeded, although with fearful results. The orang can only travel fast up dn the trees, and cannot move very well on the ground, as his legs are small and weak in comparison with his immense body and arms. The natives having located the tree in which the orangs have built their hut, Mr. Mayer ordered them to mark off trees in circles of about 50ft. or 60ft. round the one occupied by the man-monkeys. He then issued orders that no poisoned spears or darts were to be taken, but each man was to carry a parang (heavy native knife) for cutting down the trees.

AN INGENIOUS PLAN.

Oace the blazed circle was reached each man was to start from the marked trees, cutting the tree nearest him almost through, hut not letting it fall until they reached the innermost circle, near the tree where the orangs were. At a given signal the last of the trees were to he cut down so as to fall outwards, carrying with them the other trees that had been cut nearly through. By this means, with the falling of the last trees, a clear circle would he left all round the orangs’ home. “Then I went cautiously forward,” says Mr. Mayer, “keeping a sharp look-out. I presently arrived about twenty-five yards from the big tree which had been pointed out as the orangs’ dwelling-place. Hearing a rustle in a small tree above, I looked up. To my dying day I shall never forget the sight that met my gaze.

A FEARFUL SIGHT.

**‘l saw the head and shoulder of the largest oran,g I had ever beheld. He had very long, coarse red hair, large yellow teeth, and face-flaps strongly developed. The great brute was glaring malevolently down at us and uttering grunts of anger, I called to my men to keep together and not to be frightened ; for, so long as we did not separate, I knew we could scare the orangs and they would toot attack us. That awful face amid the foliage was enough to unnerve the boldest man, no matter what he was prepared for. “Keeping my rifle at half-cock, prepared to shoot at the least move towards us, I went forward. The ©rang swung himself up and went off to his tree, giving vents to horrible grunts of fury. We followed slowly, some of the men cutting away the larger trees as we closed in. Coming ■to within ten yards of the big tree, we could plainly see the two great animals. The lower branches had been broken oIT, and they were exposed to full view. The male orang’s mate was almost as large as himself, and was screaming and biting at him, swinging out of sight, only to return again and again.”

THE CRUCIAL MOMENT.

After waiting about an hour for the completion of the cutting work, Mr. Mayer gave the signal. There was a clattering of parangs, anil, with a rush of wind and the crashing of trees, the whole lot went down with a terrific thud, the near trees falling outwards on the halfcut trees, carrying them all down at once. The noise was deafening, and the two oraags, hugging one an other, s<.' earned and granted v,itfa

jngnt, coming their heads. Now the dangerous work began. A fire was lit underneath the tree in which the man-monkeys were perched, and, as the smoke drove them to the top :of the tree, the natives cut through | the trunk. [, Everything was now ready to let I the tree fall with the two orangs, and Mr. Mayer selected the men who ' were to cast the big nets of twisted : rattans over the man monkeys the I moment the tree fell. The fire was pulled away from the tree, and the men set to work to finish, cutting it down. Suddenly they jumped back. ■ A gentle swaying, a leaning over, and then, with a shrill scream from the orangs, down came the tree, with the two animals clinging to ea h other. In the shock of the fall the ■ orangs let go of each other, the nets were thrown over, and the meshy;-, were pulled together, each net lag ■ ging one of the great beasts.

TRAGEDY.

"'Then came an awful struggle,” says Mr. Mayer. “in passing, as I thought, clear of the madly-fighfing brutes, my leg was suddenly seized as if in a vice, and I was dragged towards the net. The male orang had. got one of his arms out through the meshes of the net and was pulling mo towards him ! C atebing hold of a branch, I shouted and held on desperately for a moment. Then, with a snap, my leg broke under the fearful strain. One of my headmen, Omar, seeing my danger, sprang forward and, striking at the arm of 'bo orang, caused him to let go of mo. In an instant, however, the terrible grip was upon him instead. The orang screamed with fury. Another moment, and poor Omar lay dead, with Ms neck, back, and arms broken! “Din, another headsman, seeing me lying helpless, pulled me out of danger. But by this time the orang had got his other arm out through the meshes. Another native, in trying to rescue Omar, was caught, and in less than a moment, in spite of his desperate struggles, he was drawn to the net, his face bitten .in two, and almost every bone in his body broken. I saw the whole terrible business enacted before my eyes as I lay there unable to move.

TWO NATIVES KILLED.

‘‘‘l was just on the point of fainting from the pain and horror when a dreadful yell startled me. Another tragedy had happened. Almost as quickly as I write, two natives were killed by the enraged female, and a third crippled for life. Then I fainted dead away, to recover consciousness in the headman’s house, where my broken leg had been set and bound up in a rough-and-ready way by a native medicine-man.”

Afraid of fever setting in, Mr. Mayer made all haste to retrace his steps to the village of Ngubang, where resided Dr. Van Amman, the Dutch district officer, who at once took him in hand. “What with the loss of blood and the pain and fever,” says Mr. Mayer, "T was all but done for, but told the doctor to set my leg at once, after which I Jay for twenty-four hours quite unconscious. •'‘Four days afterwards my faithful Din arrived with the orangs, which were put up in the doctor's compound and kept there until my entire recovery a month later. Then, with heartfelt thanks, I bade goodbye to Dr. Van Emman and my natives. A fortnight later I arrived safely in Singapore with the giant orangs I had obtained at such a cost. Shortly after they were shipped to Europe.”—"‘Tit Bits.”