It Now Began Climbing Up The Tree Again; And, To Avoid
Trouble, I Shot It Through The Heart.
On May 2nd, I again found one on a very high tree, when I had
only a small 80-bore gun with me.
However, I fired at it, and on
seeing me it began howling in a strange voice like a cough, and
seemed in a great rage, breaking off branches with its hands and
throwing them down, and then soon made off over the tree-tops. I
did not care to follow it, as it was swampy, and in parts
dangerous, and I might easily have lost myself in the eagerness
of pursuit.
On the 12th of May I found another, which behaved in a very
similar manner, howling and hooting with rage, and throwing down
branches. I shot at it five times, and it remained dead on the
top of the tree, supported in a fork in such a manner that it
would evidently not fall. I therefore returned home, and luckily
found some Dyaks, who came back with me, and climbed up the tree
for the animal. This was the first full-grown specimen I had
obtained; but it was a female, and not nearly so large or
remarkable as the full-grown males. It was, however, 3 ft. 6 in.
high, and its arms stretched out to a width of 6 ft. 6 in. I
preserved the skin of this specimen in a cask of arrack,
andprepared a perfect skeleton, which was afterwards purchased
for the Derby Museum.
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