HUGE MANLIKE ANIMAL

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1605, 23 November 1912, Page 3

HUGE MANLIKE ANIMAL

$ 'ARE THERE GORILLAS IN AUSTRALIA? (By Telegraph.— Special Correspondent.) Auckland, November 22. ■The Sydney correspondent of the "Herald sends the following thrilling story of a supposed gorilla tribe. Every now nnd then there come vngue and mysterious rumours of the existenco of a hairy tribe of great anthropoids in the mountains in the north of and in Gippsland across the > ictorian border. A few weeks ago one of these animals was said to have been seen near'Bombala, and plaster casts of tho track or spoor left by it were taken, but were not considered complete enough by the Sydney professor to whom they were submitted to enable him to make an authoritative pronouncement. Mr.. Charls Harper, a surveyor, in an article in a Sydney paper, vouches for the existence of somo strango animals resembling great apes. He says: "In various parts of tho southern district of this State, on tho coastal slopes, and at various_ times extending over, a very long period, I have met men (and reliable at that) who unhesitatingly assert that they had seen this hairy, man-shaped animal at short distances. They were so terrified at the apparition and tho hideous noise it made when it saw them that they left their work as timber-getters, and at onco cleafed out from the locality, leaving tools and work done behind them. Tho description of this animal, seen, at different times by different people in several localities, but always in the jungle, invariably coincide. At tjie risk of' being considered by your readers the reincarnation of Ananias, I. mil describe this animal as cnce seen, as briefly as possible. I had to proceed some distance into the heart of these jungles for a special purpose, accompanied by two others, and two large kangaroo dogs, with a strain of the British bulldog in each. For two days we saw littlo sign of animal life, excepting an odd scrub wallaby and numerous superb lyre birds, now unfortunately soon to become extinct, their habitat ravaged by English foxes. On the night of second day, about 9 p.m., having just turned in, we heard a most unusual sound, similar to the sound of the beating of a badly-tuned drum, accompanied by a low, rumbling growl. The dogs were supposed to be able to tackle anything they could hold, and throw a wild bull with ease; but in this case they seemed utterly. demoralised. They would not bark, but whined, and made to come into the tents. The horrible sounds gradually drew nearer, and our thoughts flew to escaped tigers and hyenas, and wo began to think our 'cake was dough.' We had no firearms, only a scrubhook and an axe. Although there was a small moon, the night was very dark, intensified by an over-hanging fog;. After much coaxing, I induced one of my companions who had a large bundle of leaves and dry kindling wood in his hut to gather them up and place them on the smouldering camp fire. After some minutes lliey flickered up into a big bla&e, illuminating the scrub around us for some distance, when a most bloodcurdling sight met our gaze.' A huge,' man-like animal stood erect not 20 yards from the fire, growling, grimacing, and thumping his breast with his huge hand-like paws. I looked round and saw one of my companions had fainted. He remained unconscious for some hours. The creature stood in one position for some time, sufficiently long to enable mo to photograph him on my brain. I should say its height, when standing erect, would be sft. Bin. to sft. lOin. Its body, legs, and arms were covered with long brownish-red hair, which shook with every quivering movement of its body. Tne hair on its shoulders and back parts appeared in the subdued light of the fire to bo jet black and long, but what struck me as most extraordinary was the apparently" human shape, but still so very different. "I will commence its detailed description with the feet, which only occasionally could 1 ! get a glimpse of. I saw that the metatarsal bones were very short, much shorter than in tho genus homo, but the phalungis were extremely long, indicating great grasping power by the feet. The fibula bone of the leg was much shorter than sin man. The femur bone of the.thigh .was-very long, out of all proportion to .-the rest of the .leg. The body frame was enormous, indicating immense strength and power of-.endur-anco. The arms and forepaws were extremely long and large, and very muscular, being covered with shorter hany The head ana face were very small, but very human. The eyes were large, dark, and piercing, and deeply sot. A most honible mouth was ornamented' with two large and long canine toeth. When tho jaws were closed, they protruded over tho lower lip. AH this observation only occupied ft few minutes, white the creature stood erect, as if the firelight had paralysed him. After a few more growls and thumping his breast he made off, the first few yards erect, then at a faster gait on all fours through the low. scrub. Nothing would induce my companions to continue the trip,- at which I was rather pleased than otherwise, and returned as quickly as possible out of Australian gorillas, rare as they are.