The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1908-12-10

scene of very remarkable battle. on /
account of the sulphurous smells from |
numerous hot springs and the weird |
electrical discharges, visible at night |
between its ironstone cliffs and pin.
nacles, the kloof itself was originally
known as Satan's Firebox But later |
when. in the war with the Macatees, |
the Beers were routed and one night |
upwards Of 100 women and children,
hotly pursued by a regiment of kafirs,
fed screaming through the kloof. the
name was Significantly changed 10
Petticoat pass
But, although the pass was usually
interesting, it's inhabitants were vastly
more so. Between the southern gate
way at Steelpoort and its northern out
! let, near Leydenburg, wonderfully
intelligent race of baboons has lived
for centuries high up among the iron
clad precipices. In course of time the
white hunter came along with his
deadly rifle and occasionally picked
one of them off the rocks, just for the
fun of the thing. and when the Kafirs
took n notion to poison them for the
sake of their teeth, then the balloons
in Petticoat pass were driven to de-
fend themselves. In word, they be-
gan to throw stones. So long as the
wagons and the horsemen kept NOV.
ing all was well, but when they loi-
tered or stopped the whirring of peb.
bles through the air, and occasionally
the appearance of enormous powders
cut loose from the crags above and
shot down through the air like can
non balls, never failed to remind the
loiterers that they were trespassers.
In their intercourse with the out
side world the baboons made no dis
tinction between black and white until
one day an event took place that prac-
tically closed the pass to the black
races forever.
At the Steelpoort end of the pass
the Kafirs began to encroach. They
built huts and planted gardens on the
fertile slopes near the portal. With
angry demonstrations the balloons pro-
tested, but the Kafirs were Indifferent
to the clamor. But when the sugar
cane ripened the baboons in the night
time swooped down from the ,crags
and helped themselves to what they
considered their rightful share of the
harvest, whereupon the Kafrs. who
thoroughly understood the peculiari-
ties of baboon nature, played upon
them villainous trick.
One day. in plain sight of their
enemies. who were watching them
from the heights above, the Kaiirs
| no. 30 Igs Ia1, bnr
filed with a poisonous liquid and
placed them in q row in one of the
gardens. Then they went through the
form of pretending to wash their
faces with the stuff after which they
left the calabashes in the gardens and
: departed. Watching their opportunity
the baboons came down to investigate
the business and, being unable to re
strain their hereditary impulse to i'm
itate the proceedings of others. they
forthwith washed their faces in the
poison and scampered away again. Ii
) a short time the venom began to work
) the flesh fell from their faces. ant
!, finally a number Of them died in grea
agony.
3 For many days afterwards traveller!
I through the kloof reported an ex
Y traordinary state of affairs. There
7 was much excitement and jabberini
: and much pitiful crying and calling t
each ether from cliff to cliff Blu
S when the period of mourning was owe
0 the baboons settled down to busines
Q the business of war. The prepara
tlons they made for hostilities with tn
Kafirs were astonishing. Baboon
were summoned from far and near
and the population in the kloof wa
: soon doubled. They divided them
selves into companies under leaders
They worked like beavers, ard befor
= long huge cairns of stones appeared a
i intervals along the route. and a
places where the crags rose almos
: perpendicularly from the roadwa
. great powders were rolled to the edg
of the precipices, and even ledge
. were undermined and made ready {
i slide down and oyerwhelm the IL
> vaders.
l. From the day when these arrange
q ments were completed the baboon
paid no attention whatever to whit
men, and after two or three unfo
tunate Kafirs had been stoned 10 deaf
). and torn to pieces the black race CAV
Petticoat pass an extremely wild
:, berth. Consequently. the spider-liS
y watchers up In their Businesses had
. long time to wait, but the whirliglg {
time brings about its opportunities fC
revenge, even TO baboons.
Just outside the Steelpoort end {
the pass Max Pincus, German trade
= conducted a small store for the a
II commodation Of travellers. On th
. day the baboons were poisoned. Ma
was riding through the kloof, an
came across little boy baboo
whose face was terribly burned by Il
- action of the acid The little fello
y y was crying pteously, and Max toe