A GOLD MINE IN TMK WILDERNESS. 197 



Then came an interruption, so sudden and unrelenting 

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

 "Baljoon" 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, viJDrating 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 renewcri 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 two of the females giving 

 voice with the leader, shrill falsettos which became audible 

 only during the less deafening inspiration. 



We 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. 



