A DESPERATE ADVENTURE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 270, 11 May 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

A DESPERATE ADVENTURE

TERRIBLE STRUGGLE WITH TWO -MAN-MONKEYS. Seldom lias a man started on a more a lventiirou.s mission than that lindertakei. a few years ago by Mr Cluirles Mayer tie agent of the Melbourne Zoological G irdens, and seldom has a mission in thle interests 'of science had such a tragic ending. Indeed, Mr Mayer, who has sp jnfc many years of his life in the Malay Archipelago, obtaining wild beasts for various zoological societies, and carryin;; his life in his hands again and again, confesses that he was never so near de ith as when he captured two of the biggest oran-outrangs ever se<m in Borneo. ' ' !he character and savageness of these lmj ;e inan-monkeys, one of whom required a cage 6ft high, to stand up in, may be gathered frtonythe fact that they had terrorised theWistrict roundabout Siklp, oil the Lanrak River, in Dutch Boilneo. The naj/vqs where afraid to move from their Infts, and when Ml' Mayer, who, having hcyard of the brutes, determined to catch them alive, arrived, tilery hailed him with delight. Mr Mayer's plan for for the capture of the oi'ang-outrangs was exceedingly inglenious, and succeeded, although with feajrful results. The orang can only travel fast up in the trees, and cannot move very well on the ground, as his legs are small and weak in comparison his immense body and arms. The natives having located the tree in which the orangs "had built - then' —hut, MiMayer ordered them to mark off trees in circles of about 50ft or UOft round the one occupied by the man-monkeys. He then issued orders that no poisoned spears or darts were to be taken, but each man was to carry a parang (heavy native knife) for cutting down trees. AX INGENIOUS PLAN. Once the blazed circle was reached each man was to start from the marked trees, cutting the tree nearest him almost through, but not letting it fall until they reached the innermost circle, near the tree where the orangs were. At a given signal the last of the trees was to be cut down so as to fall outwards, carrying with them all the other trees that had been nearly cut through. By this means, with the falling of the last trees, a clear circle would be left all round the orangs' home. •'Then I went cautiously forward," mivs, Mr. Mayer, "keeping a sharp lookout. I presently arrived about twentyfive yards from the big tree which had been pointed out as the orangs' dwelling place. Hearing a rustling in a small tree above, I looked up. To my dying day I shell never forget the sight that met my gaze. A FEARFUL SIGHT. "I saw the head and shoulders of the largest orang I had ever beheld. He had very long, coarse red hair, large yellow teeth, and face-flaps strongly developed. The great brute was staring malevolently ; down at us and uttering grunts of anger. I called to my men to keep together and not to be frightened, for, so long as we did not separate, T knew we could scare , I the orangs and they would not attaek j us. That awful face amid the foliage | was enough to unnerve the boldest man, no matter what he was prepared for. "Keeping mv rifle at half-cock, prepared to shoot at the least move towards us, I went forward. The orang swung himself up and went off to his tree, giving vent to horrible grunts of fury. We I followed slowly, some of the men cutting away the larger trees as we closed in. Coming to within ten yards of the big tree, we could plainly see the two great animals. The lower branches had been broken off, and they were exposed to full view. The male orang's mate was almost as large as himself, and was screaming and biting at him, swinging out of sight only to return again and again." THE CRUCIAL MOMENT. After waiting about an hour for the completion of the cutting work, Mr Mayer gave the signal. There was a clattering of parangs, and, with a rush of wind and the crash of trees, the whole lot went down with a terrible thud, the near trees falling outwards on to the half-cut tree?, carrying them all down at once. The noise was deafening, andthe two orangs, hugging one another, screamed and grunted with fright, covering their heads. Now the dangerous work began. A fire was lit underneath the tree in which the man-monkeys were perched, and, as the smoke drove them to the top of the tree, the natives cut through the trunk. Everything was now ready to let the tree fall with the two orangs, and Mr Mayer selected the men who were to cast the big nets of twisted rattans over the man-monkeys the moment the tree fell. The lire was pulled away from the tree, and the men set to work to finish cutting it down. Suddenly they jumped back. A gentle swaying, a leaning over, and then, with a shrill scream from the orangs, down came the tree, with the two a,nimals clinging to each other. In the shock of the fall the orangs lqj go each other, the nets were thrown over, and in a moment the meches were pulled together, each net bagging one of the great beasts. TRAGEDY. "Then came an awful struggle," says Mr Mayer. "In passing, as I thought, clear of the madly-fighting brutes, my leg was suddenly seized as if in a vice, and I was dragged towards the net. The male orang hail got one of his arms through the meches of the net and was pulling me towards him! Catching hold of a branch, I shouted and held on desperately for a moment. Then, with a snap, my leg broke under the fearful strain. One of my headmen, Omar, seeing my danger, sprang forward and, striking at the arm of the orang, caused him to let go of me. In an instant, however, the terrible grip was upon himself instead. The orang screamed with fury. Another moment, and poor Omar lay dead, with his neck, back and arms broken! "Din. (another hcarinaii;, feeing mel lying helpless, pulled me out of danger, But by this time the orang had got his other arm out through the meches. Another native, in trying to rescue Omar, was caught, and in less than a moment, in spite of liifi desperate struggles, he was drawn into the net. his face bitten in two, and almost every bone in liis body broken. 1 saw the whole terrible business enacted before my eyes as I lay there unable to move. TWO NATIVES KILLED. "I was just on the point of fainting from the pain and horror when a dreadful yell startled me. Another tragedy had happened. Almost as quickly as I write, two natives were killed by the enraged female, and a third crippled for life. Then I fainted dead away, to recover consciousness in the headman's house, where my broken leg had been set and bound up in a rough-and-ready way by a native medicine-man." Afraid of fever setting in, Mr Mayer made all haste to retrace his steps to the village of Ngnbang. where resided Dr Van Emniaii, the Dutch district officer. who at once took him in iliand. "What with, the loss of blood and the pain and fever," says Mr Mayer, "I was all but done for. but told the doctor to set my leg at once, after which I lay for twenty-four hours quite unconscious.

"I'iiiir din* ;U;cl'\\ ;.iy tail ili'lii JJin arrived with the orangs, which were put up iu the doctor's compound and kept there until my entire recovery a mouth later. Then, with 'heart-felt thanks, I hade good-bve to J)r Van Emman and my natives. A fortnight later J arrived safely at Singapore with the giant orangs I had obtained at such a cost. Shortly after they were shipped to Europe."