Page:Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature.djvu/34

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28
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF

64-66, is a note by Camper himself, referring to Von Wurmb's papers, and continuing thus:—"Heretofore, this kind of ape had never been known in Europe. Radermacher has had the kindness to send me the skull of one of these animals, which measured fifty-three inches, or four feet five inches, in height. I have sent some sketches of it to M. Soemmering at Mayence, which are better calculated, however, to give an idea of the form than of the real size of the parts."

Fig. 7.—The Pongo Skull, sent by Radermacher to Camper, after Camper's original sketches, as reproduced by Lucæ. These sketches have been reproduced by Fischer and by Lucæ, and bear date 1783, Soemmering having received them in 1784. Had either of Von Wurmb's specimens reached Holland, they would hardly have been unknown at this time to Camper, who, however, goes on to say:—"It appears that since this, some more of these monsters have been captured, for an entire skeleton, very badly set up, which had been sent to the Museum of the Prince of Orange, and which I saw only on the 27th of June, 1784, was more than four feet high. I examined