64 THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 



quarrelled with, a regiment of English soldiers, whom the 

 Boer people called Rooi-neks, because of their fiery-red 

 sunburned necks, were told to climb up to the top of a 

 great kop, or hill, and build upon it a rough stone fort and 

 other shelters. Now, the top of that kop belonged to the 

 clan of which I am chief. From behind the great boulders 

 we watched those khaki-clad humanfolk painfully climbing 

 up the steep rock-studded hill. It took them two weary 

 hours to do what we have, thousands of times, accomplished 

 in ten minutes. But then, of course, the muscles of the 

 humanfolk are stiff and weak with eating too much food, 

 and living a lazy life in cities. 



I gave orders to my clan to silently steal away and hide 

 in the crevices and bushes on the opposite side of the 

 mountain. We gave out not a sound, and there was no 

 sign of our nearness to those Rooi-nek trespassers. I laid 

 my plans carefully, and when the darkness had covered the 

 land, I ordered the clan to spread around in a circle, so 

 as to completely surround the soldierfolk. Each individual 

 was told to carefully hide himself behind a rock, so that he 

 would be safe against the bullets of our enemies. When 

 all was ready I gave the signal in a loud voice. Instantly 

 it was taken up, and the rocks echoed and re-echoed with 

 the shouts of the whole clan. Then they began to chatter 

 excitedly, and rolled stones down into the camp of the 

 soldierfolk. What a terrible scare we did give them, to be 

 sure. The soldierfolk knew nothing about us baboonfolk 

 or our ways, and of course they imagined they were attacked 

 by the Boers. Bugles sounded, men shouted orders, dim 

 forms darted behind boulders and into shelters, like rabbits 

 bolting down their burrows. I commanded my clan to 

 be silent and cease rolling stones. Then all was still. 

 Not a sound, other than the chirping of night insects, 

 and the booming of the bullfrogs in a distant pool could 

 be heard. 



