CHAPTER XXI 



CORNERED BY BABOONS 



THE Roosevelt African expedition en- 

 countered many baboons. We found 

 them in troops of hundreds frequenting 

 both the rocky country and the bush-veldt. As 

 soon as an ape caught sight of us he gave the 

 alarm by uttering a warning bark; at once the 

 whole army would scurry off to the cliffs. 

 Without showing the slightest fear of falling, 

 they would perch a hundred feet or more above 

 our heads, with their tails hanging over the 

 edge of the cliff in an extremely ludicrous man- 

 ner. It was interesting to see a mother bound- 

 ing from rock to rock with her young one cling- 

 ing to her breast or perched on her back. 

 When she finally reached the cliffs she would 

 sit in a most human manner and hold her off- 

 spring in her arms. 



We found their footprints in the mud along 

 the waterways and pools and in the sand and 

 dirt. As bands of the animals frequented the 

 same general locality until they had cause to 



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