umstances."

Dr. Savage's observations were confirmed and supplemented by those of
Mr. Ford, who communicated an interesting paper on the Gorilla to
the Philadelphian Academy of Sciences, in 1852. With respect to the
geographical distribution of this greatest of all the man-like Apes, Mr.
Ford remarks:

"This animal inhabits the range of mountains that traverse the interior
of Guinea, from the Cameroon in the north, to Angola in the south, and
about 100 miles inland, and called by the geographers Crystal Mountains.
The limit to which this animal extends, either north or south, I am
unable to define. But that limit is doubtless some distance north of
this river [Gaboon]. I was able to certify myself of this fact in a late
excursion to the head-waters of the Mooney (Danger) River, which comes
into the sea some sixty miles from this place. I was informed (credibly,
I think) that they were numerous among the mountains in which that river
rises, and far north of that.

"In the south, this species extends to the Congo River, as I am told by
native traders who have visited the coast between the Gaboon and that
river. Beyond that, I am not informed. This animal is only found at
a distance from the coast in most cases, and, according to my best
information, approaches it nowhere so nearly as on the south side of
this river, where they have been found within ten miles of the sea.
This, however, is only of late occurrence. I am informed by some of the
oldest Mpongwe men that formerly he was only found on the sources of the
river, but that at present he may be found within half-a-day's walk of
its mouth. Formerly he inhabited the mountainous ridge where Bushmen
alone inhabited, but now he boldly approaches the Mpongwe plantations.
This is doubtless the reason of the scarcity of information in years
past, as the opportunities for receiving a knowledge of the animal have
not been wanting; traders having for one hundred years frequented this
river, and specimens, such as have been brought here within a year,
could not have been exhibited without having attracted the attention of
the most stupid."

One specimen Mr. Ford examined weighed 170 lbs., without the thoracic,
or pelvic, viscera, and measured four feet four inches round the chest.
This writer describes so minutely and graphically the onslaught of the
Gorilla--though he does not for a moment pretend to have witnessed the
scene--that I am tempted to give this part of his pape