THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



plantations that the government has taken this monkey 

 off the Hst of protected animals for that locality, and al- 

 lows the natives to kill as many as they are able to for the 

 sake of getting rid of this pest. 



None of the very largest representatives of the numer- 

 ous monkey family exists in British East Africa. Two 

 of the most interesting species in this protectorate are the 

 destructive baboon and the beautiful colobus monkey. The 

 range of this latter monkey, which is one of the most 

 coveted hunting trophies as far as monkeys are concerned, 

 extends from Abyssinia in the north down to the Kilima- 

 Njaro, wherever the condition of the country is suitable 

 to its requirements. The colobus love the dense tropical 

 and subtropical forests, where they sometimes are found 

 on the mountains at an altitude of six to eight thousand 

 feet. 



I have often noticed that this monkey never goes far 

 away from water, and I once witnessed a most wonderful 

 spectacle of a whole troop of these beautiful creatures as 

 they were drinking from a rushing mountain stream 

 which tumbled down from the large glaciers of Mt. Kenia. 

 Big cedars and deciduous trees overhung the brook on both 

 sides, so that in several places the branches formed perfect 

 arches over the stream. From a good cover, some one 

 hundred and fifty yards away, I had the pleasure of wit- 

 nessing a regular performance by these graceful monkeys, 

 which slid down like eels from the dizzy heights of the 

 large cedars until they reached the clear water of the 

 stream. Here they were washing their faces in the most 

 cute way, and it appeared to me several times as if they 

 had even been drinking out of their hands. Two of my 



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