KEES THE BABOON 215 



hearts' content without expecting to be held in a vice at 

 every moment. 



Seventy or eighty years ago, the mountain ranges 

 of Cape Colony were infested by swarms of dog-faced 

 baboons, which came, like locus is, to eat and carry away 

 all the ripe fruit from the gardens and orchards. They 

 are very quick, very impudent, and very cunning, and 

 when they lay their plans to rob a garden, they tell off 

 some of the band as sentinels, who give instant warning 

 at the approach of danger. If they are left undisturbed 

 they will not only make an excellent dinner, but will stuff 

 the pouches they have in their cheeks with fruit, to be 

 eaten quietly when they get home. 



A traveller by the name of Le Vaillant, who was ex- 

 ploring in South Africa, captured a dog-faced baboon which 

 he called Kees. The two soon became very fond of each 

 other, and were constant companions, for the ape was quick 

 at seeing (or smelling) the presence of wild beasts when 

 the dogs were quite unable to detect them. Le Vaillant 

 turned his greediness and curiosity to account, and 

 never allowed any of his followers to eat strange fruits or 

 plants till Kees had first eaten them, as no ape can bear 

 to pass by food, especially food of a kind he has never 

 seen before. When he threw the fruit away, after merely 

 tasting it, they knew that it was better left alone. Even 

 out hunting, Kees' appetite proved too much for him. 

 He would climb up trees in the hope of finding gum, 

 and dive into hidden places in the rocks where experience 

 had taught him that honey was sometimes to be got. 

 If he could discover neither gum nor honey, he would 

 search for roots, which were the next best thing. There 

 was one in particular which his master enjoyed nearly 

 as much as he did, and when Kees' sharp eyes beheld the 

 leaves, he made all the haste he could to keep it all to 

 himself. First, of course, he had to pull it out of the 

 ground, and that was not so easy, He did not use his 



