228 AFRICA SPEAKS 



Grant's gazelles, Thompson's gazelles, dik-diks, oryx, 

 kongoni, eland, sand grouse, and plenty of guinea 

 fowl. The first part of the night in this valley is so 

 hot that sleep is impossible, and while tossing beneath 

 my mosquito net hstening to these fit tie pests buzzing 

 around, other sounds came from the direction of the 

 river; baboons, hyenas, jackals, night birds, and a 

 distant lion. Becoming restless, I reached out and, 

 picking up my boots turned them upside down to 

 empty out the scorpions, then putting them on to 

 protect my feet against the fleas, ants, snakes, and 

 lizards, took a short walk around the camp, almost 

 bumping into a black rhinoceros and his wife, who, 

 after giving a couple of loud snorts, disappeared in 

 the direction of an elephant herd, which was trumpet- 

 ing close to a near-by pool. While walking back to 

 bed, an enormous flock of flamingos flew noisily over- 

 head between myself and the moon. When I again 

 lay down I was fully satisfied that at last we had 

 made camp in a real wilderness. 



High in the rocks around Sandi and also in the 

 vicinity of our camp hved thousands of baboons. 

 Ordinarfly I would not care to shoot one of these 

 animals, but I have a doctor friend who is coUecting 

 skuUs and I thought that a baboon's cranium would 

 be an interesting addition to his museum. I never 

 reahzed what evasive creatures baboons could be until 

 I started after them with a rifle. Upon my approach 

 to their rocky home, there was a great clatter of small 

 stones as the entire troop scampered up the face of 

 the escarpment; aU except one old man baboon who 

 sat on a huge boulder shouting at the retreating mem- 

 bers of his family until they were out of sight. Then 



