The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-05-21

some CTOuOle, ana Cne rest was easy. "A
foot or two above my head the handker-
chief fluttered III the wind. Hanging to
the rope, grasped it. 1t was my wife's
AS | did SO noticed the face of baboon
peering at me over the edge of the cleft,
the first baboon we had seen that morn
ing. The brute gave bark and van
ished.- Thrusting tie handkerchief into
my breast, set my feet against the cliff
and scrambled up as hard as | could go.
knew that we had no time to lose. for
the baboon would quickly alarm the
others. gained the cleft. It was
mere arched passage cut by water, end
ing in gulley, which led to wide open
space of some sort. looked through the
passage and saw that the gulley was
black with balloons. On they came by
the hundred. l unslung my elephant
gun from my shoulders, and waited,
calling to the men below to come up
with all possible speed. The brutes
streamed on down the gloomy gulf to-
wards me, barking, granting and show
ing their huge teeth. waited till they
were within fifteen yards Then fired
the elephant gun, which was loaded
with slugs, right into the thick of them.
In that narrow place the report echoed
like cannon shot, but it's sound was
quickly swallowed in the volley of pierre
ing human sounding groans and screams
that followed. The charge of heavy slugs
had plowed through the number of the
balloons, of which at least dozen lay
dead or dying in the passage For mo-
ment they hesitated, then they came on
again with hideous clamor. Fortunate
ly by this time Indaba-zimbi, who also
had gun, was standing by my side, 9th
erwise should have been torn to pieces
before could reload. He fired both bar
rels into them, and again checked the
rush. But they came on again, and not
withstanding the appearance of two ma
tives with guns, which they let off with
more or. less success, we should have been
overwhelmed by the great and ferocious
apes had | not by this time succeeded in
reloading the elephant gun. When they
were right on to us | fired, with even
more deadly effect than before, for at
that distance every slug told on their
long line The howls and screams of rage
dIlu Jury we're HOW SOInoGnl1S IHCOuCeIV-
able. One might have thought that we
were doing battle with a host of de-
mons; indeed in that light-for the
overhanging arch of rock made it
very dark-the crashing shouts and
somber glowing eyes of the apes looked
like those of devils as they are repre-,
sented by monkish fancy. But the last
shot was too much for them; they with
drew, dragging some of their wounded
with them, and thus. gave us time to get
our men up the cliff. In few minutes
all were there, and we advanced down
the passage, which presently opened into
rocky gulley with shelving sides. This
gulley had a water way at the bottom of
it; it was about hundred yards long,
and the slopes on either side were topped
by precipitous cliffs. I looked at these
slopes; they literally swarmed with ba-
boons, grunting, barking. screaming,
and hwting their breasts with their long
arms III fury. looked up the water way;
along it, accompanied by mob or, as
it were, a guard of balloons, came Hen
drika, her long hair flying, madness writ
ten on her face, and in her arms was the
senseless form of little Tota.
TO BE CONTINUED.