it was written by philip bradford the grandson of the explorer that brought ota benga to the united states. according to the introduction the book was the story of friendship between ota benga and samuel. from the first few pages i was intrigued by the notion that they forged a friendship with the subject. it was akin to the table of robinson caruso and his side kick but had no citation and was entirely almost based on the corroborated accounts. the book nonetheless etched the tale of friendship into the hard drive of history. i found other sources and i turned to the conservation society known as the zoo to see how it had recorded the exhibition and the plot thickened. gathering animals first published in 1974 explores the history of the zoo beginning with its creation and recounting the episode of the former curator presentation content it that it was unlikely that he had ever been teach and displayed at all. plus ota benga exhibited like a strange animal? that he was locked inside the cage to the stared at during certain hours seems unlikely, he said, ignoring evidence in the society of