KATOOTERO AND HIS HONEYBIRD 



a forest dweller imitated the call of distress such as might 

 be made by a female baboon so realistically that the "Old 

 Man" of the troop rushed out into the clearing, right in 

 front of us, prepared to defend his mate. When he real- 

 ized that the cry had come from a mere man he gave 

 grunts of anger which quickly changed to sounds of al- 

 most human laughter when the suspense was broken, and 

 then he trundled oflf back into the bush. 



These forest folk do not live in villages nor do they 

 make permanent buildings. I have never seen more than 

 four or five booths together in one place and these would 

 belong to the same families. There is no defined path 

 leading up to such a camp. A stranger might pass quite 

 close to a group of shelters without realizing their exist- 

 ence, for great care is taken to obliterate any apparent 

 road of access. It is usual for these shy forest people to 

 return to their camps by different routes, so that they 

 shall not betray their presence to strangers by leaving 

 worn trails. 



They live their lives with proud reserve in the great 

 solitudes of the forest strictly secluded. They are highly 

 intelligent, and while shy yet in the face of personal 

 danger they are absolutely fearless. 



The hunters have been the friends of the forest for 

 their wants were meagre and easily satisfied without the 

 necessity for tree destruction for making farms. A few 

 dead sticks gathered from wind- fallen branches provide 

 sufficient fuel. Within the spell of the forest they guard 

 their own domain from all intruders, for no rival would 



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