The Zoologist — November, 1868. 1431 



suggested the idea that the baboons had really been digging for 

 water ; but the matter seems never to have received that careful 

 investigation which a theory so extraordinary certainly demands. 



" The wild animals have now deserted this immediate neighbour- 

 hood; the only creatures that are to be seen in numbers are the apes 

 and monkeys ; these throng the sides of the river, eating the tama- 

 rinds from the few large trees, and collecting gum from the mimosas. 

 These hungry animals gather the tamarinds before they are ripe, and 

 I fear they will not leave a handful for us ; nothing is more agreeable, 

 in this hot climate, than the acidity of the tamarind water. I remarked 

 a few days ago, when walking along the dry sandy bed of the Till 

 about five miles from the river, that the monkeys had been digging 

 wells in the sand for water." — p. 233. 



My next and concluding quotation about these Abyssinian quadru- 

 manes represents them in undisturbed possession of their native 

 haunts, no Arabs pursuing, and no one attempting, either from the 

 love of mischief or of the chase, to interfere with their apparently 

 patriarchal government. 



" Troops of baboons 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 their 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 places 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 baboous have a great 

 variety of expressions that may perhaps represent their vocabulary : a 

 few of these I begin to understand, such as their notes of alarm, and 

 the cry to attract attention ; thus, when I am sitting alone beneath 



