The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-20
BABOoN HUNTS IN AFRICA.

CTS U pon nMOnKeyS-EXLraOfQ ll-
 telligence Attributed to the Mischiev-
 ous Beasts-Damage Done by Them
 to Settlers-Poison Useless Against
 Them-Danger Natives Meet in the
 Hunts.
 The South African colonists have got rid of their lions and elephants, but they have not yet been able to get the better of the baboon. A balloon, al though somewhat like dog, has all the mischievousness of man. <, It Is the ugliest animal in all creation. The Boers call him Adonis. and never desig- nate him under the official name that has been given to him by science.
 Now, this creature Is the curse Of the Cape Colony. He commits depreda tions for the love of the thing Any impru- dent tomcat that ventures too far away from home is sure to be captured and strangled for fun by a. baboon. Nearly all the Angoras, the choicest and most costly animals imported by the colo nists, have been destroyed by these huge monkeys. Even the dogs share the same fate. The bravest and most pugnacious of the English canine breeds are unable to cope with adversa- ries armed with just as powerful jaws and with the immense advantage of having four hands instead of four paws. With dexterity that conspicuously ex- hibits his surgical aptitudes, the baboon bleeds his enemy in the throat, and in less than a minute the duel ends in the death of the dog.
 When the shepherd Is away and the dog has been disposed of the flock Is left without defence. Although the ba- boon generally feeds upon lizards and beetles, he does not despise a few mouthfuls of mutton, which he devours seated on the back of his living victim. Unfortunate are the goats and sheep that are attacked by these cynoeephali! When Adonis finds his appetite fully satisfied he enjoys at a little distance the contortions of his victim. He fre- quently attacks cows, but never at- tempts to get into close quarters with a bull The ostrich, thanks to it's extra ordinary speed, can easily get away from the baboon, but 1t ismuch afraid of him, and immediately runs off on hear ing his bark It is noteworthy that na- l ture has given to the baboon not only the head of dog, but also the voice of 1 2 dog. All birds that are not remarka- ble for their intelligence have an insur- mountable dread of the cynocephalus.
 One of the principal amusements of | these big monkeys is to gambol around the wire fences that protect the tame | estriehes just to terrify them. The panic among them is so great that they often break their legs in their wild
 rushes. This Is pastime which the
 monkeys seem to enjoy hugely. It is known that broken leg for an ostrich
 means a death sentence. | A baboon runs away from man, but l he has no fear of a woman. After all there is no good ground for the mortal terror which Adonis inspires among some of the negro women of South Af-
 rica. As matter of fact, the fear of the cynocephali is often merely a pre-
 text among the, young Zulu and Basuto belles to get the escorts of their choice
 to accompany them to the wells. The
 baboon Is very bad fellow and an in- tolerabl neighbor, butfhe should not be slandered.
 l The Adonises travel In packs of about l fifty or sixty. They, always keep out of
 gun-shot range and watch for chance | to do mischief in the absence of shep-
 herds or guards To get rid of the ugly
 marauders the eolonists some time ago established poisoning clubs, which were | subsidized by the British authorities | All the old poisons and the new discoy-
 cries of chemistry were tried, but they
 proved worthless. A hungry panther
 or jackal might easily enough swallow
 a few grains of arsenic or a strychnine
 pill placed In piece of raw meat, but a.
 baboon Is never deceived by so simple
 method. He is delicate and refined
 fellow, accustomed generally to live
 upon eggs, fruits lizards and different
 kinds of insects. He becomes carnivor-
 ous at rare intervals only, and appa- ] rently, In some degree, at least, for the | pleasure of terturing the unfortunate | domestic animals that may fall into his
 clutches. His infallible instinct teaches
 him to distrust men, even when they
 are offering presents. With a marvel
 ous scent that might well do honor to
 professional expert, he detects the pres
 ence of mineral or vegetable poison in
 the quarter of mutton that he finds by
 chance as he travels along. Moreover, l he is thoroughly aware of the fact that
 wise apes in permanent contact with
 barbarians from Europe should never
 swallow pills.
 These animals are possessed of al- | most human intelligence. It is impos- sible to get near them in the day time, and at night during their hours of re- | pose they are always surrounded by a cordon of sentinels, whose vigilance is absolute. At the slightest indication of
 the approach of an enemy one of the sentinels yells out, Yah hou! Yah | hou!" And in an instant the whole troop disappears. It is unfortunate that, in his dictionary of the language
 of monkeys, MT. Garner does not give us the exact derivation of Yah hou" It is also noteworthy that the balloons
 never attempt to fly if the man who | comes to trouble their repose is not | armed with a gun. Although they ex- | hibtt extraordinary power of measuring by instinct the average range of a rife,
 and cautiously keep out of the way, l they exhibit no fear whatever of cold
 steel. If they find themselves confront
 ed by settler with no means of de-
 fence except hunters knife, they send
 8 shower of stones at him, and the lord