The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-20

or creation Is obliged to retreat before a battalion of cynocephali that hurl pro- Jeetiles at him while keeping at a dis tahce, because a man, even when he Is beaten, never entirely loses his prestige among baboons.
 It Is In the darkness of the night that the Cape colonists prepare their war of revenge against these enemies whose depredations ruin in @ few moments the most flourishing agricultural establish ments. A baboon hunt resembles an expedition against a tribe of Basutos or Zulus. The farmers of region In tested by balloons commence by calling out the rear guard of their shepherds. These precious auXiliaries of African agriculture are Kaffirs who in the ba- boon hunts play a dangerous and often self-sacrifloing part. Before sunset they receive an order to form a circle around the ground covered with bushes and pear trees where the balloons have established their camp. When the men are at their post, they begin to march with extreme slowness and caution, manoeuvring in way to force the cy- nocephali to close their ranks and move toward the high ground. where they are accustomed to take refuge in case of danger. The movement to bring about their concentration requires pru- dence and caution. The animals must not be alarmed too much.
 About, midnight a dozen or so of horsemen arrive one, by one, at the farm where they have agreed to meet. It is we'll known that the European colonists of South Africa are riflemen that have no superiors on the face Of the earth. and that they can perform tours de force with @ gun that surpass those of the famous companions of Buffalo Bill | After having partaken of some of the substantial refreshments for which South African hospitality Is noted, the colonists sleep two or three hours, and then start out for their baboon hunt. They surround the hill where the ene-
 my Is collected. Each one is separated
 from his companion by an interval of about one hundred meters, with the ex-
 ception of two of the best shots In the
 company, who climb to the summit of
 the hill to cut off the retreat. These
 manoeuvres are executed in profound l silence, and when each man is in the 1 place assigned to him, he has nothing
 more to do except to light his pipe and quietly wait for sunrise. At about four o'clock the cracking of a branch gene
 rally gives notice that the animals are waking up. One of them advances cau-
 tiously to see if there is anything suspi- oious in the horizon. After making
 about three or four paces he receives a
 bullet which sends him bounding into
 the air with an almost human cry, | Than Inc and tha hunters
 blaze away. Few of the enemy escape.
 The hunters then advance, but instead of taking scalps they cut off tails, which
 furnish the evidence of their prowess
 and entitle them to the reward fixed by
 the government. Each tail is worth
 about seventy-five cents.
 l An old Boer, on being asked if he was
 satisfied with recent hunt, replied:
 Perfectly. We had splendid sport 1 We killed forty monkeys and two men!" That gives one an idea of the dangers incurred in the pastime. These unfor- ] tunate accidents cannot be attributed
 to any want of skill in the use of the I rifle. A true Afrikander, as each colonist
 of the Cape, of the Orange Free State I and of the Transvaal calls himself, nev- l CT misses a shot, but, before firing, he l does not always take time to reflect. If I one of the crack shots In ambush on the 4 high grounds makes the slightest move l ment, he runs the risk of receiving a
 bullet in his head. But 1t is among the | natives that the bullets of the hunters
 make the most victims. In the gray l light which precedes the dawn it is not I always easy to distinguish Q baboon
 from a Basuto.-Paris Figaro.