THE CHACMA. 
61 
“Suddenly I heard a hoarse cough, and on turning, saw indistinctly in the fog a queer 
little old man standing near, and looking at me. I instinctively cocked my gun, as the idea of 
bushmen and poisoned arrows flashed across my mind. The old man instantly dropped on his 
hands ; giving another hoarse cough, that evidently told a tale of consumptive lungs ; he 
snatched up something beside him, which seemed to leap on his shoulders, and then he scam- 
pered off up the ravine on all-fours. Before half this performance was completed, I had dis- 
covered my mistake ; the little old man turned into an ursine baboon with an infant ditto, who 
had come down the kloof to drink. The ‘old man’s’ cough was answered by a dozen others, 
at present hidden in the fogs ; soon, however, 
" ‘ Up rose the sun, the mists were curl’d 
Back from the solitary world 
Which lay around/” 
and I obtained a view of the range of mountains gilded by the morning sun. 
“A large party of the old gentleman’s family were sitting up the ravine, and were evi- 
dently holding a debate as to the cause of my intrusion. I watched them through my glass, 
and was much amused at their grotesque and almost human movements. Some of the old 
ladies had their olive branches in their laps, and appeared to be ‘doing their hair,’ while a 
patriarchal old fellow paced backwards and forwards with a fussy sort of look ; he was evi- 
dently on sentry, and seemed to think himself of no small importance. 
“ This estimate of his dignity did not appear to be universally acknowledged ; as two or 
three young baboons sat close behind him watching his proceedings ; sometimes with the most 
grotesque movements and expressions they would stand directly in his path, and hobble away 
only at the last moment. One daring youngster followed close on the heels of the patriarch 
during the whole length of his beat, and gave a sharp tug at his tail as he was about to turn. 
The old fellow seemed to treat it with the greatest indifference, scarcely turning round at the 
insult. Master Impudence was about repeating the performance, when the pater, showing 
that he was not such a fool as he looked, suddenly sprang round, and catching the young one 
before he could escape, gave him two or three such cuffs, that I could hear the screams that 
resulted therefrom. The venerable gentleman then chucked the delinquent over his shoulder, 
and continued his promenade with the greatest coolness : this old baboon was evidently 
acquainted with the practical details of Solomon’s proverb. 
“A crowd gathered round the naughty child, who, child-like, seeing commiseration, 
shrieked all the louder. I even fancied I could see the angry glances of the mamma, as she 
took her dear little pet in her arms and removed it from a repetition of such brutal treat- 
ment.” 
One of these animals, personally known to Captain Drayson, was a great practical jester, 
and was fond of terrifying the Kaffir women by rushing at them open mouthed, catching them 
by their ankles, and mowing at them with extravagant grimaces, as if he meant to eat them 
up bodily. Sometimes a dog would be set at him while thus employed, and change the aspect 
of affairs in a moment. The pursuer then became the pursued, and quitting his prey, made 
for the nearest tree, up which he scuttled, and settled himself among the branches just so high 
as to be out of reach of the dog’s jaws, and just so low as to give hopes of success by a higher 
thau ordinary leap. There he would sit as if there were no such being in the world as a dog, 
and giving himself up to the contemplation of the surrounding scenery, or the aspect of the 
sky, would leisurely pursue his train of thought until the dog was tired and went away. 
His keenness of sight was remarkable, his eyes possessing powers of distant vision that 
rivalled the telescope. 
In order to prove the powers of the creature’s sight, his master made several experiments, 
by going to so great a distance that the baboon perched on its pole was barely perceptible to 
the naked eye, and from thence producing sundry distortions of countenance, and strange 
attitudes of body. By looking through a telescope, he was able to see that the animal was 
not only capable of discerning and imitating his gestures, but even the very changes of counte- 
