Stephen de Visme

Stephen de Visme, Esq. (fl. 1768) was an English naturalist. His description of a strange humanoid monkey in Canton, China has been interpreted as a mistaken view of the Orangutan. Quotes I now send you of a singular fort of monkies, male and female, may not prove unacceptable. These animals are called Golok, or wild people; and are thought to be originally a mixture with the human kind, having no tails. They come out of the forest in the interior part of Bengal, from the country called Mevat. They inhabit the woods; their food is fruit, leaves, bark of trees, and milk; flesh only when caught. They are very gentle, and extremely modest. They are of the height of man; their teeth are as white as pearls; their legs and arms are in due proportion to their body, which is very genteel. Some of them were brought to Decca; and what I now send you is a copy of the original drawing. "Abstract of a Letter from Stephen De Visme, Esq; At Canton, in China, to Henry Baker, F.R.S. Containing an Account of an Earthquake at Macao, and a Short Description of a Singular Species of Monkeys without Tails, Found in the Interior Part of Bengal. Communicated by Mr. Baker", Philosophical Transactions, vol. 59 (1769), pp. 71–3 External links Q141180973 Category:Naturalists from England