rush of youngsters takes place, and much squabbling
for the best places ensues among the boys; this
ends in great uproar, when down comes a great
male, who cuffs one, pulls another by the hair, bites
another on the hind quarters just as he thinks
he has escaped, drags back a would-be deserter
by his tail, and shakes him thoroughly, and thus
he shortly restores order, preventing all further
disputes by sitting under the bush and quietly
enjoying the berries by himself. 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 O the tracks of his large feet upon the bank of the river, but there is
no possibility of finding these animals in the day
time, 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,