Comments on: Pre-1900 Gorilla Newspaper References

By: cor2879

cor2879 — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 23:02:18 +0000

Some very interesting articles. Especially interesting to see how some of the reports from 140+ years ago closely mirror modern day reports.

By: aaha

aaha — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 19:56:44 +0000

Straight gold strike. This may be one of the most important publications ever published on the subject. P-R-O-O-F. Ray Wallace’s family will come out and say that he died at age 162. And then Bob Hieronimus will claim it was he who was running around in costume in th 19th centruy at which point Tom Biscardi will sue him.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 05:27:25 +0000

My hearing of the Kangaroo word origin is a little different. The European asks the Aborigine the name of the animal, and the Aborigine says either, “What did you say?” or “I don’t understand.” Considering your version, I’d bet on the latter being correct. I cannot imagine the Aborigines NOT having a name for a very common animal.

By: billkirbywofb

billkirbywofb — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:56:25 +0000

Gorillas were the name for the Spanish resistance to Napolion’s invasion of Spain in 1806 during the Napolionic Wars of 200 years ago.

By: shumway10973

shumway10973 — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 00:24:25 +0000

according to my computer’s dictionary, gorilla’s origin is from an alleged African word for a wild or hairy person, found in the Greek account of the voyage of the Carthaginian explorer Hanno in the 5th or 6th cent. bc; adopted in 1847 as the specific name of the ape. At least this name actually fits the animal, most people don’t realize that kangaroo is actually aborigine for “I don’t know”. The explorers thought that when they asked what the animal’s name was, the aborigine was giving them a name, but the aborigines didn’t have a name for them.

By: devinbennett

devinbennett — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 23:47:28 +0000

Good evening Craig.

I found the one from the 1883 edition of the “Newark Daily Advocate” to be fascinating! Not only did I go to college near Newark, Ohio (Denison University — Granville, Ohio, ‘93), BUT my family has vacationed up on the Ottawa River very close to the town of Pembroke for over 25 years now!!

As a kid, camping out on my aunt’s family island on the Ottawa River, I would fantasize about coming face-to-face with a Sasquatch. The island is 16 acres, most of it wooded and rugged. On one night, some years back, when I was a teenager, I was camped out on the far side of the island by myself. Early in the morning, I distinctly heard footsteps around my tent and felt an eerie sense. I remember thinking, “What if it’s HIM [Sasquatch]?!” My better judgment took hold, and I brushed it off as a raccoon or something more believable. Nothing ever came from that encounter with whatever it was, but it made for a fun memory. Part of me wishes that I had the courage to poke a head out and look at whatever it was that night, another part of me is glad I stayed put! What if it were a bear (they have been sighted in that island cluster).

Anyway… great post – fascinating stuff!

By: Sky King

Sky King — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 23:16:47 +0000

afigbee Says:
There’s no top on the cage in the photo.

And –is that a palm tree in the background?

Just a coupla guys in hair suits. Very common hokum for the era.

And it’s likely not a palm, but a yound Ailanthus, or “Tree of Heaven”.

By: Sky King

Sky King — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 23:14:15 +0000

LSU_Crypto Says:

Edgar Allen Poe wrote “Murders in the Rue Morgue” in 1841. I though I was going to school everyone and point out that the murderer was an escaped gorilla. I re-read the story and it was an Orangutang. That’s what I get for trying to be smart.

That’s what you get for going to school with Edgar Allen Poe!

By: LSU_Crypto

LSU_Crypto — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:51:54 +0000

By: afigbee

afigbee — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:31:19 +0000

There’s no top on the cage in the photo.

And –is that a palm tree in the background?