or three old trees and stumps, between which a few feet of soil had
collected just above the water, which was just large enough for us to
drag the animal upon it. I first measured him, and found him to be by
far the largest I had yet seen, for, though the standing height was the
same as the others (4 feet 2 inches), the outstretched arms were 7
feet 9 inches, which was six inches more than the previous one, and
the immense broad face was 13 1/2 inches wide, whereas the widest I had
hitherto seen was only 11 1/2 inches. The girth of the body was 3 feet
7 1/2 inches. I am inclined to believe, therefore, that the length and
strength of the arms, and the width of the face continues increasing to
a very great age, while the standing height, from the sole of the foot
to the crown of the head, rarely if ever exceeds 4 feet 2 inches.
As this was the last Mias I shot, and the last time I saw an adult
living animal, I will give a sketch of its general habits, and any other
facts connected with it. The Orangutan is known to inhabit Sumatra and
Borneo, and there is every reason to believe that it is confined to
these two great islands, in the former of which, however, it seems to be
much more rare. In Borneo it has a wide range, inhabiting many districts
on the southwest, southeast, northeast, and northwest coasts, but
appears to be chiefly confined to the low and swampy forests. It seems,
at first sight, very inexplicable that the Mias should be quite unknown
in the Sarawak valley, while it is abundant in Sambas, on the west, and
Sadong, on the east. But when we know the habits and mode of life of
the animal, we see a sufficient reason for this apparent anomaly in
the physical features of the Sarawak district. In the Sadong, where I
observed it, the Mias is only found when the country is low level and
swampy, and at the same time covered with a lofty virgin forest. From
these swamps rise many isolated mountains, on some of which the Dyaks
have settled and covered with plantations of fruit trees. These are a
great attraction to the Mias, which comes to feed on the unripe fruits,
but always retires to the swamp at night. Where the country becomes
slightly elevated, and the soil dry, the Mias is no longer to be found.
For example, in all the lower part of the Sadong valley it abounds, but
as soon as we ascend above the limits of the tides, where the country,
though still flat, is high enough to be dry, it disappears. Now the
Sarawak valley has this peculiarity--the lower portion though swampy, is
not covered with a continuous lofty forest, but is principally occupied
by the Nipa palm; and near the town of Sarawak where the country becomes
dry, it is greatly undulated in many parts, and covered with small
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