6S THE CHACMA. 
then chucked the delinquent over his shoulder, and continued his promenade with the 
ereatest coolness: this old baboon was evidently acquainted with the practical details of 
Solomon’s proverb. 
“A crowd gathered round the naughty child, who childlike, seeing commiseration, 
shrieked all the louder. I even fancied I could see the angry glances of the mamma, as 
she took her dear little pet in her arms and removed it from a repetition of such brutal 
treatment.” 
One of these animals, personally known to Captain Drayson, was a great practical jester, 
and was fond of terrifying the Kaffir women by rushing at them open mouthed, catching 
them by their ankles, and mowing at them with extravagant grimaces, as if he meant to eat 
them up bodily. Sometimes a dog would be set at him while thus employed, and change 
the aspect of affairs in a moment. The pursuer then became the pursued, and quitting his 
prey, made for the nearest tree, up which he scuttled, and settled himself among the 
branches just so high as to be out of reach of the dog’s jaws, and just so low as to give hopes 
of success by a higher than ordinary leap. There he would sit as if there were no such 
being in the world as a dog, and giving himself up to the contemplation of the surround- 
ing scenery, or the aspect of the sky, would leisurely pursue his train of thought until 
the dog was tired and went away. 
His keenness of sight was remarkable, his eyes possessing powers of distant vision 
that rivalled the telescope. 
In order to prove the powers of the creature’s sight, his master made several experi- 
ments, by going to so great a distance that the baboon perched on its pole was barely per- 
ceptible to the naked eye, and from thence producing sundry distortions of countenance, 
and strange attitudes of body. By looking through a telescope, he was able to see that 
the animal was not only capable of discerning and imitating his gestures, but even the 
very changes of countenance ; so that a grimace on the part of the gallant owner was 
immediately reproduced, or rather, represented by a grin on the part of the baboon. 
There is a well-known story of a monkey who literally “ plucked a crow ” which had 
been in the habit of stealing his food, and curiously enough, the scene was re-enacted by 
this very animal, with the exception of one or two slight differences. 
He was chained to the pole because he was rather too mischievous to be left entirely 
at liberty. He had been already detected in eating a box of wafers, studying practically 
the interior construction of a watch, and drinking a bottle of ink—in this last exploit 
displaying similar tastes with the siamang described on p. 32 of this volume. His age 
was only two years at the time when the account of his performances was written. 
Captain Drayson has very kindly furnished me with the following original anecdotes 
of this tame Chacma :— 
“ A young baboon which had been reared by his owner from infancy resided for some 
months near my tent, and often served to while away an idle hour. 
“Sometimes a stout earthen pot, which had just been emptied of its contents of good 
English jam, was submitted to the mercy of ‘Jacob, as this animal was named. The 
neck of the pot would not admit even a hand to be inserted, and it was most amusing to 
watch the manceuvres which were practised to procure some of the remnants of the 
sweets. If a stick were near, the jam was scooped out; but if not, the pot was elevated 
high above Jacob’s head, and then flung to the ground with great force. 
“The earthen pot was stout and strong ; but upon one oceasion, by good luck, the pot 
struck a stone, and was fractured. Great was the delight of Jacob, but not unmixed with 
suspicion; for he appeared to think that the bystanders had been merely waiting to take 
advantage of his skill in projectiles, and that they would now purloin his fragments. 
Cramming his pouches full of bits of the jam-pot, he then seized the largest remaining 
piece and retreated to the top of his pole to enjoy the licking, 
“ He was always fully occupied for some hours after these feats; for the jam adhered to 
his body, and he had to contort himself to lick off all the particles. 
“There is almost as much expression in the tail of a baboon, as there is in his face. 
The alteration of the curve in which it is usually carried, or the lowering of this appen- 
dage, having a special meaning, according to the character of the individual. 
