These
Baboons Have A Great Variety Of Expressions That May Perhaps
Represent Their Vocabulary:
A few of these I begin to understand,
such as their notes of alarm, and the cry to attract
Attention;
thus, when I am sitting alone beneath the shade of a tree to
watch their habits, they are at first not quite certain what kind
of a creature I may be, and they give a peculiar cry to induce me
to move and show myself more distinctly.
"October 20.--A lion was roaring throughout the night not far
from the tent on his way towards the river to drink; at every
roar he was answered by the deep angry cry of the baboons, who
challenged him immediately from their secure positions on the
high rocks and trees. I found the tracks of his large feet upon
the bank of the river, but there is no possibility of finding
these animals in the daytime, as they retire to the high grass
upon the table lands.
"The banks of the Atbara are now swarming with small birds that
throng the bushes (a species of willow), growing by the water's
edge; the weight of a large flock bends down the slender boughs
until they touch the water: this is their opportunity for
drinking, as their beaks for an instant kiss the stream. These
unfortunate little birds get no rest, the large fish and the
crocodiles grab at them when they attempt to drink, while the
falcons and hawks pursue them at all times and in every
direction. Nothing is fat, as nothing can obtain rest, the
innumerable birds and beasts of prey give no peace to the weaker
kinds; the fattest alderman of the city of London would become a
skeleton, if hunted for two hours daily by a hyaena.
"October 23.--This evening I took a walk, accompanied by my wife,
and Bacheet with a spare gun, to try for a shot at guinea-fowl.
We were strolling along the margin of the river, when we heard a
great shrieking of women on the opposite side, in the spot from
which the people of Sofi fetch their water. About a dozen women
had been filling their water-skins, when suddenly they were
attacked by a large crocodile, who attempted to seize a woman,
but she, springing back, avoided it, and the animal swallowed her
girba (water-skin), that, being full of water and of a brown
exterior, resembled the body of a woman. The women rushed out of
the river, when the crocodile made a second dash at them, and
seized another water-skin that a woman had dropped in her flight.
They believe this to be the same monster that took a woman a few
months ago. Few creatures are so sly and wary as the crocodile.
I watch them continually as they attack the dense flocks of small
birds that throng the bushes at the water's edge. These birds are
perfectly aware of the danger, and they fly from the attack, if
possible. The crocodile then quietly and innocently lies upon the
surface, as though it had appeared quite by an accident; it thus
attracts the attention of the birds, and it slowly sails away to
a considerable distance, exposed to their view. The birds, thus
beguiled by the deceiver, believe that the danger is removed, and
they again flock to the bush, and once more dip their thirsty
beaks into the stream. Thus absorbed in slaking their thirst,
they do not observe that their enemy is no longer on the surface.
A sudden splash, followed by a huge pair of jaws beneath the bush
that engulfs some dozens of victims, is the signal unexpectedly
given of the crocodile's return, who has thus slyly dived, and
hastened under cover of water to his victims. I have seen the
crocodiles repeat this manoeuvre constantly; they deceive by a
feigned retreat, and then attack from below.
"In like manner the crocodile perceives, while it is floating on
the surface in mid-stream, or from the opposite side of the
river, a woman filling her girba, or an animal drinking, &c. &c.
Sinking immediately, it swims perhaps a hundred yards nearer, and
again appearing for an instant upon the surface, it assures
itself of the position of its prey by a stealthy look; once more
it sinks, and reaches the exact spot above which the person or
animal may be. Seeing distinctly through the water, it generally
makes its fatal rush from beneath--sometimes seizing with its
jaws, and at other times striking the object into the water with
its tail, after which it is seized and carried off.
"The crocodile does not attempt to swallow a large prey at once,
but generally carries it away and keeps it for a considerable
time in its jaws in some deep hole beneath a rock, or the root of
a tree, where it eats it at leisure. The tongue of the crocodile
is so unlike that of any other creature that it can hardly be
called by the same name; no portion throughout the entire length
is detached from the flesh of the lower jaw--it is more like a
thickened membrane from the gullet to about half way along the
length of jaw.
"October 4.--Having burnt off a large surface of high grass, I
discovered a quantity of gourds and wild cucumbers--the latter
are bright crimson, covered with long fleshy prickles, with black
horny tips; these are eaten by the baboons, but not by the Arabs.
The gourds are only serviceable for cups and ladles manufactured
from their shells.
"I find a good pair of Highland shooting shoes of great value;
the soles were exceedingly thick, and they have resisted, until
now, the intensely hard and coarse-grained sandstone which grinds
through all leather. My soles are at length worn out, and I have
repaired them with the tanned hide of giraffe. Much of the
sandstone is white and soft and friable; but this appears to have
been decomposed by time and exposure, as the generality is hard
and would make excellent grindstones.
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