96 THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 



and give them a good spanking. That never fails to make 

 them obedient. 



When the weather is nice and warm, we often go along 

 to the clear pools of water which collect on hollow rocks 

 and in crevices and holes ; or else we go down to the nearest 

 spring, spruit, river, or vley and wash our faces and heads. 

 We always make a practice of washing our babies. Of 

 course, they bawl and kick and struggle, but we don't take 

 any notice. Their mothers wash their faces and heads 

 and often their whole bodies in the clear water. Then they 

 carry their precious babies up to a sunny ledge of rock to 

 get dry. Our mother baboonfolk dearly love their children, 

 and until they are a year or more old will not let them out 

 of their sight. They will at any time give up their lives 

 in the effort to protect their children from harm. You 

 mustn't imagine we baboonfolk, or any other kind of animal- 

 folk for that matter, are utterly selfish, and never think of 

 the welfare of others. If we had been selfish like that, 

 our race would long since have vanished. We are just 

 as fond, or even fonder of our children as you humanfolk 

 mothers are. If any one of our tribe gets into danger, we 

 are all ready to rush to his help and save him, even at the 

 risk of our lives. 



THE BUSHMEN 



You humanfolk talk as if you were quite a different 

 creation to us baboonfolk, and think of us as mere " animals," 

 without any particular feehngs. I think from what I have 

 told you, that you ought to know that we are very intelli- 

 gent creatures, and if we are not exactly what you call 

 " human," then we are very near to it. You say that the 

 pigmy Bushmen are human beings. I wonder why ? I 

 suppose it's because they walk upright and don't have to 



