Illustration from ???a D矇couverte Australe par une Homme Volant??by the French author Nicolas-Edme R矇stif (or R矇tif) de la Bretonne (1704 ??1806). Entitled ???he Ape-Men?? showing the 18th century Frenchman, Victorin and his son exploring the austral, or southern territory, by air. Victorin has invented a flying machine made of silk and whalebone with a pair of wings plus a spring-operated directional wing in the form of a parasol. They discover many fantastic hybrid creatures like elephant-men, lion-men and pig-men. The ape-men shown here, though hairy, are half way between monkey and man. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the unexplored hypothetical southern continent was a popular subject of fantastic fiction involving imaginary voyages.