1 30 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



shade of a tree to watch their habits, they are at first not quite certain what kind of 

 a creature I may be, and they utter a peculiar cry to induce me to move and show 

 myself more distinctly." , 



On another occasion when a troop of about a hundred of these baboons were 

 observed gathering gum from the mimosa trees, Sir Samuel Baker was asked by 

 the natives whether L,ady Baker would like to have a girrit, as these creatures are 

 called by the Arabs of the Sudan. ' ' Being answered in the affirmative, away 

 dashed the three hunters in full gallop after the astonished apes, who, finding them- 

 selves pursued, went off at their best speed. The ground was rough, being full of 

 broken hollows covered scantily with mimosas, and the stupid baboons, instead of 

 turning to the right into the rugged and steep valley of Settite, where they would 

 have been secure from the agageers [swordsmen] , kept a straight course before the 

 horses. It was a curious hunt. Some of the very young baboons were riding on 

 their mothers' backs ; these were now going at their best pace, holding on to their 

 maternal steeds, and looking absurdly human ; but in a few minutes, as we closely 

 followed the Arabs, we were all in the midst of the herd, and with great dexterity 

 two of the agageers, while at full speed, swooped like falcons from their saddles, 

 and seized each a half -grown ape by the back of the neck, and hoisted them upon 

 the necks of the horses. ' Instead of biting, as I had expected, the astonished cap- 

 tives sat astride of the horses, and clung tenaciously to the necks of their steeds, 

 screaming with fear. The hunt was over, and we halted to secure the prisoners. 

 Dismounting, to my surprise the Arabs immediately stripped from a mimosa several 

 thongs of bark, and having tied the baboons by the neck, they gave them a merci- 

 less whipping with their powerful coorbatches of hippopotamus hide." This cruel 

 treatment, which was eventually stopped by Sir Samuel Baker, was intended to 

 make the unfortunate baboons docile, and prevent their biting. 



The doguera baboon (C. doguera) is a closely allied species or variety, also 

 found in Abyssinia. It is of a more olive color than the sacred baboon. Dr. 

 Anderson describes a male preserved in the Museum at Calcutta as being of a 

 uniform yellowish-olive color on the whiskers and all over the body, above and 

 below, except on the hands and feet, which are nearly black. The coarse hair on 

 the fore part of the body is about 6 inches in length, and is ashy-gray in color 

 for the first 2 inches, while the remainder is banded with nine rings of orange 

 and black. 



THE CHACMA BABOON ( Cynocephalus porcarius) 



The species last noticed is an inhabitant of the countries bordering on the Red 

 Sea littoral and the Upper 'Nile valley, but to reach the habitat of the chacma, or 

 pig-tailed baboon, we have to travel to the southern extremity of the African con- 

 tinent. The name Chacma, it may be observed, is a somewhat euphonized rendering 

 of the word T'chackamma, by which the Hottentots of South Africa designate 

 this animal. 



Ivike all the remaining representatives of the long-tailed baboons, the chacma 

 differs from the Arabian baboon by the absence of the mane on the neck and 



