Between Man and Beast

A colorful and exciting account of a chapter of natural history, Between Man and Beast by Monte Reel is the story of Paul du Challiu, "discoverer" of the gorilla.

du Challiu was an “adventurer” (or traveler, as his critics later denounced him) who - although ignorant of the scientific methods and painstaking research the larger scientific community demanded - set out into the African Bush, becoming the first white man to ever lay eyes on the gorilla. The long mythologized animal had been described by Africans as some sort of cross between man and beast or a hairy man among other fun descriptions. The creature was then duly shot by du Challiu, preserved and stuffed, shipped off to museums and lecture halls across Europe and America, making du Challiu a legend in his own time.

du Challiu was a lad of uncertain origins (those origins are later uncovered by Reel and their socially damning facts are revealed). He came of age in equatorial Africa, eventually falling under the care of protestant missionaries. du Challiu longs to create a new identity for himself. Under the sponsorship of The Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, he enters the African bush, ostensibly to collect birds for that institution. On his mind, however, was the creature he had heard the African people refer to as “nyega” – the gorilla. While away from civilization, he encounters and befriends natives, does a good deal of collecting for the museum, and at long last, “discovers” the gorilla. When du Challiu emerges from the bush, he spends some time in obscurity before finally publishing his book, Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa, which details his journey and becomes a bestseller.

 Once they reach America, du Challiu’s gorillas seem to touch every part of society, from the base (PT Barnum had some interesting ideas about how to prevent the young gorilla hunter from upstaging him) to the more enlightened; Edwin Stanton used the term gorilla as the ultimate derision when describing Lincoln. Struggling between the worlds of science and entertainment, du Challiu’s gorillas never really get their footing in America. Eventually deciding to try Europe, du Challiu unveils his creatures at a lecture in London. From here, du Challiu is drawn into the world of Victorian London’s scientific circles. In the days when Darwin had just published on the On the Origin of Species, scientific clubs seemed to abound and men such as Livingstone and andkan were stomping all over the globe, the Union Jack in tow. du Challiu was plunged – gorillas and all – into the debates that were raging over evolution. Both pro-evolution and anti-evolution forces used his gorilla to prove their case. The gorilla was seen as man’s nearest wild relative and was therefore a lightning rod for the evolution conversation, which was taking place in the scientific journals and rarified clubs great men frequented. This was a world that was fascinating to glimpse. Reel does a superb job of setting us down into a pipe-smoke filled, oak paneled room fairly brimming with the great minds of its day. The mix of men of science, the cloth and great wealth and titles at the height of Victorian Imperialism was a tasty treat for me (a confirmed anglophile) and I devoured with relish such scenes as Huxley and Bishop’s historic debate (not as intense as history has claimed, alas) as well as Dr. Owen cozying up is his house provided for him by none other than Queen Victoria herself

Due to his total lack of education in the sciences, du Challiu was called, in some quarters, a fraud. His book’s directions were murky, his maps incorrect, his drawings unscientific – in all, what was originally seen as a book of science was, in short order, denounced as a book of travel, and an inaccurate one at that. These great British men of learning were, in many ways, jealous schoolboys. Their foibles leaves the reader chuckling sometimes at how “evolved” they were. Some of the criticisms leveled at du Challiu were legitimate; others were just weird. Yet, there was real work to be done here, and du Challiu takes the steps needed to gain the respect of the scientific community and at long last, create and identity for himself of which he can be proud.

What could be a dry account of a little remembered sliver of history is rendered delightful in Reel's hands. Although his prejudices shine through (he is clearly on board with the evolutionists and doesn’t hold much water with those who object on religious grounds), he never insults and he seems to want to give every person represented a good showing. The comic infighting amongst the scientists and explorers of the day is revealing and amusing. The stories from the African Bush are unique and enlightening. But what shines through the most is Natural History itself. One gains an appreciation for the art of discovering new terrains and new species, decoding the history of earth and its inhabitants, and all that we now take for granted as being long-known being discovered. A read of Between Man and Beast will make you want to renew your National Geographic subscription or take a walk through your local Natural History Museum. I sure did.