A GOLD MINK IX THE WILDERNESS. 197 



Then came an interruption, so sudden and unrelenting 

 that it seemed to reach to the very heart of nature. A Red 

 "Baboon" raised his voice less than fifty yards away, and 

 even the leaves seemed to tremble with the violence of the 

 outburst of sound. A long, deep, rasping, vibrating roar, 

 followed by a guttural inhalation hardly less powerful. After 

 a dozen connected roars and inbreathings the sound de- 

 scended to a slow crescendo, almost died away and then 

 broke out with renewed force. 



We crept swiftly toward the sound, treading as softly as 

 possible and soon, in a high bulletwood, we saw three of the 

 big red monkeys. The male passed on out of sight, and 

 the second, a medium-sized animal, followed. The third 

 was a mother with her baby clinging tightly to her back. 

 She climbed slowly, showing her rich light golden red fur 

 and beard, while the arms and legs of her dark-furred 

 baby were revealed as lines of darker color around her 

 body. 



Twenty minutes later we stalked another roaring male, and 

 found four in this troop. We saw I wo of the females giving 

 voice with the leader, shrill falsettos which became audible 

 only during the less deafening inspiration. 



\Ye tried to think of a simile for the voice of this monkey 

 and could only recur to that which always came to mind - 

 the roar of wind, ushering in a cyclone or terrific gale. And 

 yet there was ever present to the ear the feeling of something 

 living as if mingled with the elemental roar was the howl 

 of a male jaguar. No sound ever affected us quite as this; 

 seeming always to prestige some unnamed danger. While 

 it lasted, the sense of peace which had been inspired by the 

 calmness and silence of the jungle gave place to a hidden 

 portent of evil. Yet we loved it, and the savage delight 

 which we took in this and other wilderness sounds made 

 our pulses leap. 



