BABOONS. 131 



Sir Samuel ^ e conc l uc ^ e our notice of the species with two accounts given 



Baker's Observa- by Sir Samuel Baker, when in the Sudan. " Troops of baboons," 

 tions. observes Sir Samuel, " are now exceedingly numerous, as, the 

 country being entirely dried up, they are forced to the river for water, and 

 the shady banks covered with berry -bearing shrubs induce them to remain. 

 It is very amusing to watch these great male baboons stalking majestically 

 along, followed by a large herd of all ages, the mothers carrying the little ones 

 upon their backs, the latter with a regular jockey-seat riding most comfortably, 

 while at other times they relieve the monotony of the position by sprawling at 

 full length and holding on by their mothers' back hair. Suddenly a sharp-eyed 

 young ape discovers a bush well covered with berries, and, his greedy munching 

 being quickly observed, a general rush of youngsters takes place, and much 

 squabbling for the best place ensues among the boys ; this ends in great uproar, 

 when down comes a great male, who cuffs one, pulls another by the hair, bites 

 another on the hind-quarters just as he thinks he has escaped, drags back a would-be 

 deserter by his tail and shakes him thoroughly ; and thus he shortly restores order, 

 preventing all further disputes by sitting under the bush and quietly enjoying the 

 berries by himself. These baboons have a great variety of expressions, that may 

 perhaps represent their vocabulary. A few of these I begin to understand, such as 

 the notes of alarm and the cry to direct attention ; thus, when I am sitting alone 

 beneath the shade of a tree to watch their habits, they are at first not quite certain 

 what kind of a creature I may be, and they utter a peculiar cry to induce me to 

 move and show myself more distinctly." 



On another occasion when a troop of about a hundred of these baboons were 

 observed gathering gum from the mimosa trees, Sir Samuel Baker was asked by 

 the natives whether Lady Baker would like to have a girrit, as these creatures are 

 called by the Arabs of the Sudan. " Being answered in the affirmative, away dashed 

 the three hunters in full gallop after the astonished apes, who, finding themselves 

 pursued, went off at their best speed. The ground was rough, being full of broken 

 hollows covered scantily with mimosas, and the stupid baboons, instead of turning 

 to the right into the rugged and steep valley of Settite, where they would have 

 been secure from the agageers [swordsmen], kept a straight course before the 

 horses. It was a curious hunt. Some of the very young baboons were riding on 

 their mothers' backs ; these were now going at their best pace, holding on to their 

 maternal steeds, and looking absurdly human ; but in a few minutes, as we closely 

 followed the Arabs, we were all in the midst of the herd, and with great dexterity 

 two of the agageers, while at full speed, swooped like falcons from their saddles, 

 and seized each a half -grown ape by the back of the neck, and hoisted them upon 

 the necks of the horses. Instead of biting, as I had expected, the astonished captives 

 sat astride of the horses, and clung tenaciously to the necks of their steeds, screaming 

 with fear. The hunt was over, and we halted to secure the prisoners. Dismounting, 

 to my surprise the Arabs immediately stripped from a mimosa several thongs of 

 bark, and having tied the baboons by the neck, they gave them a merciless whipping 

 with their powerful coorbatches of hippopotamus hide." This cruel treatment, 

 which was eventually stopped by Sir Samuel Baker, was intended to make the 

 unfortunate baboons docile, and prevent their biting. 



