Kipling used the word for monkey--no mention of leg length. Scroll halfway down and you'll find the sentence: “Unchain the Gyascutis!” said Sir Christopher commandingly. Giuseppe placed the monkey atop of the organ, where the beast, misunderstanding, stood on his head.
http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/prose/ActionReactions/puzzler.html