progression. When lying in the box it would lift itself up to the edge
into almost an erect position, and once or twice succeeded in tumbling
out. When left dirty, or hungry, or otherwise neglected, it would scream
violently until attended to, varied by a kind of coughing or pumping
noise very similar to that which is made by the adult animal. If no one
was in the house, or its cries were not attended to, it would be quiet
after a little while, but the moment it heard a footstep would begin
again harder than ever.
After five weeks it cut its two upper front teeth, but in all this time
it had not grown the least bit, remaining both in size and weight the
same as when I first procured it. This was no doubt owing to the want
of milk or other equally nourishing food. Rice-water, rice, and biscuits
were but a poor substitute, and the expressed milk of the cocoa-nut
which I sometimes gave it did not quite agree with its stomach. To this
I imputed an attack of diarrhoea from which the poor little creature
suffered greatly, but a small dose of castor-oil operated well, and
cured it. A week or two afterwards it was again taken ill, and this time
more seriously. The symptoms were exactly those of intermittent fever,
accompanied by watery swellings on the feet and head. It lost all
appetite for its food, and, after lingering for a week a most pitiable
object, died, after being in my possession nearly three months. I much
regretted the loss of my little pet, which I had at one time looked
forward to bringing up to years of maturity, and taking home to England.
For several months it had afforded me daily amusement by its curious
ways and the inimitably ludicrous expression of its little countenance.
Its weight was three pounds nine ounces, its height fourteen inches,
and the spread of its arms twenty-three inches. I preserved its skin and
skeleton, and in doing so found that when it fell from the tree it must
have broken an arm and a leg, which had, however, united so rapidly that
I had only noticed the hard swellings on the limbs where the irregular
junction of the bones had taken place.
Exactly a week after I had caught this interesting little animal, I
succeeded in shooting a full-grown male Orangutan. I had just come home
from an entomologising excursion when Charles [Charles Allen, an English
lad of sixteen, accompanied me as an assistant] rushed in out of breath
with running and excitement, and exclaimed, interrupted by gasps, "Get
the gun, sir,--be quick,--such a large Mias!" "Where is it?" I asked,
taking hold of my gun as I spoke, which happened luckily to have one
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