Birds and All Nature, Vol. 5, No. 5, May 1899: Illustrated by Color PhotographyVarious
History
Birds and All Nature, Vol. 5, No. 5, May 1899: Illustrated by Color Photography
Various
Birds -- Periodicals; Natural history -- Periodicals
This animal is said to be remarkable for its ability in discovering
water. In South Africa, when the water begins to run short, and the
known fountains have failed, it is deprived of water for a whole day,
until it is furious with thirst. A long rope is then tied to its
collar, and it is suffered to run about where it chooses. First it
runs forward a little, then stops, gets on its hind feet, and sniffs
the air, especially noting the wind and its direction. It will then,
perhaps, change its course, and after running for some distance take
another observation. Presently it will spy out a blade of grass, pluck
it up, turn it on all sides, smell it, and then go forward again. Thus
the animal proceeds until it leads the party to water. In this respect
at least, baboons have their uses, and on occasions have been the
benefactors of man.
The baboons have, in common with the natives, a great fondness for a
kind of liquor manufactured from the grain of the _durra_ or _dohen_.
They often become intoxicated and thus become easy of capture. They
have been known to drink wine, but could not be induced to taste
whisky. When they become completely drunk they make the most fearful
faces, are boisterous and brutal, and present altogether a degrading
caricature of some men.
As illustrating the characteristics of fear and curiosity in the
baboon, we will quote the following from the personal experience of Dr.
Brehm, the celebrated traveler. He had a great many pets, among others
a tame lioness, who made the guenons rather nervous, but did not strike
terror to the hearts of the courageous baboons. They used to flee at
her approach, but when she really seemed to be about to attack one of
them, they stood their ground fairly well. He often observed them as
they acted in this way. His baboons turned to flee before the dogs,
which he would set upon them, but if a dog chanced to grab a baboon,
the latter would turn round and courageously rout the former. The
monkey would bite, scratch, and slap the dog's face so energetically
that the whipped brute would take to his heels with a howl. More
ludicrous still seemed the terror of the baboons of everything
creeping, and of frogs. The sight of an innocent lizard or a harmless
little frog would bring them to despair, and they would climb as high
as their ropes would permit, clinging to walls and posts in a regular
fit of fright. At the same time their curiosity was such that they had
to take a closer look at the objects of their alarm. Several times he
brought them poisonous snakes in tin boxes. They knew perfectly well
how dangerous the inmates of these boxes were, but could not resist the
temptation of opening them, and then seemed fairly to revel in their
own trepidation.
THE SUMMER POOL.
BUCHANAN.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account