work, he was personally familiar with the young of one kind of African
man-like Ape, and with the adult of an Asiatic species--while the
Orang-Utan and the Mandrill of Smith were known to him by report.
Furthermore, the Abbe Prevost had translated a good deal of Purchas'
Pilgrims into French, in his 'Histoire generale des Voyages' (1748),
and there Buffon found a version of Andrew Battell's account of the
Pongo and the Engeco. All these data Buffon attempts to weld together
into harmony in his chapter entitled "Les Orang-outangs ou le Pongo et
le Jocko." To this title the following note is appended:--

"Orang-outang nom de cet animal aux Indes orientales: Pongo nom de cet
animal a Lowando Province de Congo.

"Jocko, Enjocko, nom de cet animal a Congo que nous avons adopte. 'En'
est l'article que nous avons retranche."

Thus it was that Andrew Battell's "Engeco" became metamorphosed into
"Jocko," and, in the latter shape, was spread all over the world, in
consequence of the extensive popularity of Buffon's works. The Abbe
Prevost and Buffon between them, however, did a good deal more
disfigurement to Battell's sober account than 'cutting off an article.'
Thus Battell's statement that the Pongos "cannot speake, and have no
understanding more than a beast," is rendered by Buffon "qu'il ne peut
parler 'quoiqu'il ait plus d'entendement que les autres animaux'"; and
again, Purchas' affirmation, "He told me in conference with him, that
one of these Pongos tooke a negro boy of his which lived a moneth with
them," stands in the French version, "un pongo lui enleva un petit
negre qui passa un 'an' entier dans la societe de ces animaux."

After quoting the account of the great Pongo, Buffon justly remarks,