22 THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 



OUTWITTED 



We are never afraid of ever poisoning ourselves by eating 

 herbs and berries, fruits and bulbs which are poisonous, 

 because we know them all ; but we have found hy a bitter 

 experience that our senses of taste and smell are not alto- 

 gether perfect where new poisons are concerned. Besides, 

 those farmer folk are so crafty. One day a troop of us 

 went gaily off to a forest of acacia trees to pick the gum 

 which oozes from the trunks and branches and of which 

 we are so fond. We all ate a great deal, and went off. 

 Presently some of our number began to groan and chatter, 

 and we knew they were suffering terrible agonies. Then 

 their legs and arms began to jerk and quiver, and presently 

 they got horrible convulsions and died. This occurred 

 several times with our people before it dawned on us that 

 the gum might be poisoned. We carefully watched, and 

 found that the farmer folk went and made little holes in 

 the gum on the trees, and put a deadly poison, called 

 strychnine, inside. 



Truly, we now live in constant dread and terror, for 

 we never know what new plan those crafty men will hatch 

 out and put in operation against us. 



HOW A SENTINEL WAS KILLED 



One evening before going to bed, we planned to rob 

 a neighbouring mealie field. At daybreak we issued silently 

 forth, our sentinel taking up his position in the top of a 

 Spekboom tree on the side of a small hill overlooking the 

 cornfields. We were busy stuffing our cheeks with mealies, 

 and collecting cobs to take away with us, when a sharp 

 report rang out, and our sentinel tumbled headlong to the 

 ground. Then a man with a gun appeared at the top of 



