Australian Gorilla 1871 2

SINCE the report of the strange animal seen by Mr. George Osborne, on the Avondale ranges; and which he supposes was a gorilla, has appeared, speculations regarding the existence and species of that "natural curiosity" have been rife in this district. Several parties have been exploring the bush and gullies in the supposed whereabouts of hss gorillaship during the past fortnight, but without success. On Wednesday last a party of between twenty and thirty gentlemen assembled in the vicinity indicated, with dogs, ropes, and firearms, but after considerable wanderings had been made by some of the party, and much patient waiting on the part of others, evening closed on the expedition without their having obtained either scent or sight of the
gorilla. Strange steps and marks were noticed up the side of a figtree in one of the gullies explored, and as the peculiar formation of the tree provided a hiding place near the upper part of the trunk, it was cut down by several willing hands, but on the tree being laid low, an "old man opossum" made his appearance instead of the gorilla. It is to be hoped the animal may be captured without delay, and as there is some talk of an expedition being started in Sydney for the purpose, the young men of this district should bestir themselves, and not allow others to carry away the praise and profit as well as the prize involved in the strange affair. A person who has resided on the Balli Mountain for several years positively asserts that an animal similar to that seen by Mr. Osborne, but considerably larger, has been seen in the bush in that locality more than once, and by different persons, and that no dogs can be found to face it.--Illawarra Mercury.

(From the Macleay Herald, July 14.)

It is said by persons frequenting the neighbourhood of Belgrave, that a gorilla has made its appearance in that vicinity. A short time ago a camp of blacks were so scared by the appearance of the alleged monster, that they left their camp, and hastened with all possible speed to Warneton, and refused to return. When asked for a description of the animal they saw, they said, "That fellow run on four legs, and stand up and run on two legs ; him got plenty fellow hair all over." Two young men are also said to have been riding along through the bush between Belgrave and Warneton, when the supposed gorilla rushed through the bush near them, and so frightened the horse (a very quiet one) which one of the young men was riding that it was with great difficulty that he could keep his seat, and prevent the horse from bolting. A short time after, so the story goes, a person residing in the same neighbourhood, hearing his bull-dog barking and making desperate efforts to break his chain, evidently wishing to get at something he saw: in the bush, let the dog loose. The dog, a very savage brute, immediately tore away in a furious manner, towards the bush; but in a short time he was seen beating a speedy retreat, with his courage evidently cooled. He took refuge in the house, and could not be persuaded to leave it. A party of young men, it is said, formed a sort of expedition in pursuit of the alleged gorilla, but have not been able to test the truth of the statements respecting the ferocious creature of the woods.

I am delighted to perceive that the North is determined not to be outdone by the South; and that the settlers of the Macleay have boldly resolved to challenge the claims of Illawarra to superiority by cultivating a gorilla of their own. This new Australian Darwinian is lucidly described in the intelligent language of a blackfellow : "That fellow run on four legs, then stand up and run on two legs. Him got plenty hair all over." Without pausing for one moment to entertain the incredulous thought that the blackfellow was only chaffing his hearers with a description which would apply very well to a kangaroo, I accept the Northern gorilla as an accomplished fact, for accomplished I have no doubt he is, judging by analogy from the facial lineaments of Mr. Darwin himself. I think it is quite time that this interesting portion of our population received a little more attention than it has hitherto had, and that some of our peripatetic schoolmasters paid a visit to Illawarra and the Macleay for the especial purpose of affording elementary instruction to those children of the wilds, instead of setting bulldogs at them, or running them down, on horseback or in the newspapers.

We (Port Denison Times) have heard before of the existence, in the country around Mount Dryander and Crysalbrook, of an animal answering somewhat to the description of the gorilla, and of which the blackfellows are said to be greatly afraid. We have hitherto paid but little attention to these rumours, considering that little if any reliance was to be placed on them. Lately, however, we have been Informed on the authority of a gentleman residing at Crystalbrook that two of these creatures have been seen. It would be a matter of considerable importance from a scientific point of view to know that this gentleman has not been mistaken, and if possible to capture one of these animals.

A sad story is thus told by the Bendigo Advertiser of Tuesday:--"At the Sandhurst City Police Court yesterday a scene occurred which will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it; it was one that could not fail to excite sorrow and sympathy in the hearts of those who are most accustomed to see strange things in this country. Two men, named George Peters and Edwin Glyde, were brought before the court by the mounted constable stationed at Kerang, near Swan hill. They were lunatics; they were clothed in rags of the filthiest description, and one of them half-naked, having neither boot to his foot nor hat on his head. The rags which they had on were old and rotten, and they seemed as if they had been mended a hundred times, each attempted improvement making them worse than before. Their hair was hanging down to their shoulders as if it had not been cut for many years, and this, combined with the length of their whiskers, the filth of their bodies, and their general appearance, formed a spectacle alike shocking and hideous to behold. It appeared as if they had just emerged from some mountain cave, and never before knew what was civilization; or, like Rip Van Winkle, had woke from the sleep of 20 years to find themselves miserable, destitute, and mad. The men were found wandering about the bush near Kerang. "When first discovered by the police they looked wild men; or rather, as the trooper put it, more like gorillas than human beings. One was first seen walking around a tree. He had been observed by a shepherd on the run, who took no notice of him for a few days; but seeing the poor creature performing the same endless task for two days, he went and asked him what he was doing, to which he replied that he might as well be walking as sitting down. Of course the shepherd then saw that he was speaking to a lunatic, and noticing his desperate condition, he went to the police station and gave information. The trooper in charge rode out to the run and took the lunatic into custody, lodged him in the watch house, and went in search of the other. The same evening, as he was riding through the scrub, he saw a small fire at a distance; he proceeded in that direction, and on coming up to it he saw a man bending over the fire on his hands and knees, doing his best to warm his unprotected body. On the constable speaking, the lunatic jumped up startled, as if he saw an apparition, and was about to flee, when he was safely secured and hurried away to the watchhouse. On Saturday both men were conveyed into Sandhurst from Kerang, after having travelled a distance of nearly 80 miles; and yesterday they were brought up before the court and were ordered to be sent to the Yarra Bend. Nothing is known of their past careers, nor can anything be learnt respecting the manner in which they lived in the bush, or how long they have been there ; but their exterior alone tells a tale of horror and privation which words cannot describe.

More tidings of the Australian gorilla. Since the report of the strange animal seen by Mr. Geo. Osborne on the Avondale Ranges, and which he supposes was a gorilla, has appeared, speculations regarding the existence and species of that natural curiosity have been rife in the Illawarra district. Several parties have been exploring the bush and gullies in the supposed whereabouts of his gorillaship during the past fortnight, but without success. Recently, a party of between twenty and thirty gentlemen assembled in the vicinity indicated, with dogs, ropes, and firearms, but without obtaining either scent or sight of the gorilla. Strange steps and marks were noticed up the side of a fig tree in one of the gullies explored, but on the tree being laid low, an "old man opossum" made his appearance instead of the gorilla. A person who has resided on Bulli Mountain for several years, positively asserts that an animal similar to that seen by Mr. Osborne, but considerably larger, has been seen in the bush in that locality more than once, and by different persons, and that no dogs can be found to face it.