1430 The Zoologist — November, 1868. 



baboons, who were gathering gum-arabic from the mimosas ; upon 

 seeing us, they immediately waddled off'. ' Would the lady like to 

 have a girrit (baboon) ? ' exclaimed the ever-excited Jali : 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 the Settile, where they would have been secure from the 

 aggageers, 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 aggageers, while at full speed, 

 stooped 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 with both arms 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 imme- 

 diately 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. It was in vain that 

 I remonstrated against this harsh treatment ; they persisted in the 

 punishment, otherwise, they declared, the baboons would bite, but if 

 well whipped they would become ' miskeen ' (humble). At length 

 my wife insisted upon mercy, and the unfortunate captives wore an 

 expression of countenance like prisoners about to be led to exe- 

 cution, and they looked imploringly in our faces, in which they 

 evidently discovered some sympathy with their fate." — p. 306. 



I cannot reconcile this wild scene with the author's previous 

 assertion that he never allowed the baboons to be disturbed : how- 

 ever, there is no more reason to doubt the good intentions which 

 dictated the first passage than the truthfulness of the cruel scene so 

 graphically described in the second. The next passage which 

 touches on the habits of baboons mentions a fact that is so new to 

 me, and so apparently improbable, that I cannot accept it without 

 some misgiving. I have no doubt that there were appearances which 



