The Iola register., 1890-10-24


baboons made good fight for it, how
ever, and it was not till the old man was
killed with an assegai that they ran
away.
"Well, there is little hut in the
kraal at the stead where my father
sometimes shuts up natives who have
misbehaved. 1t is very strong, and has,
a barred window. To this hut Hendrix
carried the sack, and, having united the
mouth, put it down on the floor and ran
from the place, shutting the door behind
him. In another moment the poor lit
tie thing was out and dashing round the
stone hut as though it were mad. 1t
sprung at the bars of the window, clung
there, and beat it's head against them
till the blood came. Then it fell to the
floor, and sat there crying like a child,
and rocking itself backward and for
ward. 1t was so sad to see it that l be-
gan to cry, too. ....
"Just then my father came in and
asked me what all the fuss was about.
1 told him that we had caught young
white babooE, and he was angry, and
said that it must be let go. But when
he looked at it through the bars of the
window he nearly fell down with aston
ishment.
"'Whyr he said, this is not baboon,
it is a white child that the balloons have
stolen and brought up ....
s'Now, Mr.. Allan. whether my father
is right or wrong you can judge for
yourself. You see, Hendrika-we named
her that after Hendrix, who caught her
she is woman, not a monkey, and yet
she has many of the ways of monkeys,
and looks like one, too. You saw how
she can climb, for instance, and
you hear how she talks. Also she is
very savage, and when she is angry or
Jealous she seems to go mad, though she
is as clever as anybody. think she must
have been stolen by the balloons when
she was quite tiny and nurtured by them,
and that is why she is so like them.
'.But to go on. My father said that 1t
was our duty to keep Hendrika at any
cost. The worst of it was that for three
days she would eat nothing, and I
thought that she would die, for all the
while she sat and walled. On the third
day, however, went to the bars Of the
window-place and held out cup of milk
and some fruit to her. She looked at it
for long while, then crept up moaning,
took the milk from my hand and drank
it greedily, and afterwards ate the fruit.
From that time forward she took food
readily enough, but only il l would feed
her. But must tell you of the dread
. full end of Hendrix. From the day that
we captured Hendrika the whole place
began to swarm with baboons, which
were evidently employed in watching
the kraals. One day Hendrix went out
towards the hills alone to gather some
medicine. He did not come back again,
so the next day search was made. By a
big rock which l can show you they
found his scattered and broken bones,
the fragments of his assegai, and four
Head balloons. They had set upon him
and torn him to pieces. -
my father was very much frightened
at this, but still he would not let Hen
drika go, because he said she was
human, and that it was our duty to re-
Slain her. And so we did-to a certain
sxtent, at least After the murder Of
Hendrix the balloons vanished from the
neighborhood, and have only returned
quite recently, so at length we vent
ured to let Hendrika out. By this
time she had grown very fond of me;
still, on the first opportunity, she ran
away. But in the evening she returned
again. She had been seeking the
baboons, and could not find them.
Shortly afterward she began to speak
1 taught her-and from that time she
has loved me so that she will not leave
me. 1 think it would kill her if went
away from her. She watches me all
Day and at night sleeps on the floor of
my hut Once, too, she saved my life
when l was swept down the river in q
food; but she is jealous, and hates
every body else. Look how she is glar-
ing at you now because / am talking to
youT
looked. Hendriks was tramping
along with the child in her arms and
staring at me in a most sinister fashion
out Of the corners Of her eyes
While was rejecting on the baboon
woman's strange story and thinking
that she was an exceedingly awkward
customer. the path took sudden turn.
';Lookf' said Stella, '.there is our
house Is 1t not beautifully"
1t was beautiful indeed. Here on the
western side Of the great peak bay had
been formed in the mountain, which
might have measured eight hundred or