146 THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 



into the bush. Alas ! my chum was dying. We all em- 

 braced him. He muttered a feeble good-bye and died. 



We have several other enemies. The slim Cheetah, or 

 Hunting Leopard, kills and devours us. He lies hidden until 

 we venture away from the forest to dig up bulbs and hunt 

 for berries and insects. Then with a swift rush he is 

 amongst us, and always manages to capture at least one 

 of our number. Sometimes he kills two or three. All we 

 can do under such circumstances is to make for the trees 

 as fast as possible. The Dutch people call the Cheetah 

 a Vlackte tijger. 



Then there is another enemy which we dread. He is 

 known as the Caracal or Rooi-kat. His colour is brick-red 

 and he is as big as a pointer dog. 



THE ADVENTURES OF A MOTHER MONKEY 



My friend a little while ago was telling you about how 

 our curiosity overcame us one day when that tenderfoot 

 fellow bolted home to his mother and left his gun lying upon 

 the ground ; and how we got fingering and examining the 

 gun ; and how it suddenly went off and blew off the arm 

 of one of the monkeyfolk. Well, I was one of the victims 

 of that accident. I had the fingers of my right hand 

 blown off. My hand healed up quite quickly, because 

 I was healthy and strong and my blood was rich and red. 

 You see we monkeyfolk take lots of exercise and eat simple 

 foods. That's why we are so tough and strong. You 

 humanfolk are very wise in some ways, but you are very 

 foolish in other ways. Why, most of you break the laws 

 of health and hygiene almost every day, and when you 

 get ill you grumble furiously, and vent your ill-humour 

 upon your friends, acquaintances, or servants ; or else you 

 talk spiteful gossip, and slander each other. 



The clan to which I belonged were in the habit of 



