His eyes began to flash fiercer fire, as we stood
motionless on the defensive... His powerful
fangs were shown as he again sent forth a
thunderous roar, and now truly he reminded
me of nothing but some hellish dream
creature, a being of that hideous order,
half man half beast.
***
It was as though I had killed some
monstrous creation, which yet had
something of humanity in it. Well as I
knew this was an error,
I could not help the feeling.
motionless on the defensive... His powerful
fangs were shown as he again sent forth a
thunderous roar, and now truly he reminded
me of nothing but some hellish dream
creature, a being of that hideous order,
half man half beast.
***
It was as though I had killed some
monstrous creation, which yet had
something of humanity in it. Well as I
knew this was an error,
I could not help the feeling.
There is a wide difference between it and
man, and the gulf is so great that I do not
see how we can make out that he is our
ancestor, or that we were his progenitors.
(Applause.)
***
The head, with its enormous expansion of
the brain, the thinking brain of man, the
brain which, with the aid of the Almighty,
made us what we are,
intelligent, responsible creatures.
(Applause.)
----------------------------------------------
Excerpts from Paul Du Chaillu's early research on the Gorilla
