104 THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 



by our sense of sight at other times. When you have seen 

 us baboonfolk out upon the veld or hillside it was at such 

 times as we were busy digging up these Babiana plants, 

 or else another bulb which is common all over South Africa. 

 It is known to you as the Moraea or Uintje. It has a yellow 

 flower, and its bulb is good wholesome food for humanfolk 

 as well as all other creatures. Even the wild guinea fowls 

 have found that it is good to eat, for they too dig it up and 

 eat it. 



GOOD FOOD EVERYWHERE 



There is good wholesome food growing everywhere, 

 both above and below ground, yet you humanfolk would 

 starve to death if you strayed away from your towns or 

 your farms and got lost in the veld or bush. Long ago 

 a ship called the Grosvenor was wrecked, and a large 

 number of men, women, and children reached the land. 

 They tried to reach their friends by marching through the 

 country, and although they were walking over heaps of 

 wholesome food every day, they were quite unaware of it, 

 and actually starved to death. If they had only had one of 

 our folk, or a Bush boy, with them they would have 

 been saved. Those Bushmen were 'cute, crafty little 

 fellows, but they learned all their nature-craft from us 

 baboonfolk. When their monkey-like ancestors came first 

 into South Africa they carefully watched us and noted 

 what we ate, and they did the same. Then they showed 

 their gratitude by killing and eating us whenever they 

 could. Well, I suppose if we had been stronger than they, 

 and were able to make and use stone axes, stone spears, 

 and stone arrowheads, we should have hunted them. They 

 didn't kill us all off anyhow. Neither have you white folk, 

 with your wonderful poisons and traps and guns, although 

 you have done your best to do so. We baboonfolk have 



