by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER XLIV.
TOTTY AND THE CHACMAS.
Von Bloom and his family had now been months without bread. They werenot without a substitute, however, as various roots and nuts suppliedthem with a change of food. Of the latter, they had the ground orpig-nut, which grows in all parts of Southern Africa, and which forms astaple food of the native inhabitants. For vegetables they had the bulbsof many species of _Ixias_ and _Mesembryanthemums_, among others the"Hottentot fig." They had the "Caffir bread"--the inside pith of thestems of a species of _Zamia_; and the "Caffir chestnut," the fruit ofthe _Brabeium stellatum_; and last, not least, the enormous roots of the"elephant's foot." They had wild onions and garlic too; and in the whiteflower-tops of a beautiful floating plant, they found a substitute forasparagus.
All these roots and fruits were to be obtained in the neighbourhood, andno man knew better how to find them, and "crow" them up when found, thandid Swartboy the Bushman. Well might he, for in Swartboy's early days hehad often been compelled to subsist for weeks, and even months, on rootsalone!
But although they could procure a constant supply of these naturalproductions, they considered them but a poor substitute for bread; andall of them longed to eat once more what is usually termed the "staff oflife"--though in South Africa, where so many people live exclusivelyupon the flesh of animals, bread is hardly entitled to that appellation.
Bread they were likely to have, and soon. When treking from the oldkraal, they had brought with them a small bag of maize. It was the lastof their previous year's stock; and there was not in all over a bushelof it. But that was enough for seed, and would produce many bushels ifproperly planted, and carefully tended.
This had been done shortly after their arrival at their present home. Afertile spot of ground had been selected, only a few hundred yards fromthe nwana-tree. It had been turned up with the spade, for want of aplough, and the seeds planted at proper distances.
Many an hour had been given to the weeding and hoeing of it, and aroundevery plant a little hill of soft mould had been raised, to nourish theroots, and protect them from the heat of the sun. The plants were evenwatered now and then.
Partly on account of this attention, and partly from the richness of thevirgin soil, a splendid growth was the result; and the stalks stood fulltwelve feet high, with ears nearly a foot long. They had almost ripened;and the field-cornet intended in about a week or ten days to gather inthe crop.
Both he and all his people were anticipating pleasant feasts ofmaize-bread, and "hominy," with "mash and milk," and various otherdishes, that with Totty's skill could be manufactured out of the Indiancorn.
About this time an incident occurred that nearly deprived them, not onlyof their whole plot of maize-plants, but also of their valuablehousekeeper, Totty. It was as follows:--
Totty was on the platform in the great nwana-tree, which commanded aview of the corn-patch, and also of the plain beyond, as far as thebottom of the cliffs. She was busied about "house" affairs, when herattention was called off, by some singular noises that came from thatdirection. She parted the branches and looked through. A singular scenewas before her eyes--a spectacle of no common kind.
A body of odd-looking animals, to the number of two hundred or more, wascoming from the direction of the cliffs. They were creatures of ungainlyforms--in make and size not unlike large ill-shaped dogs--and of agreenish-brown colour. Their faces and ears only were black, and thesewere naked, while their bodies were covered with harsh coarse hair. Theyhad long tails, which some of them carried high in the air, andflourished about in a very eccentric manner.
Totty was by no means alarmed. She knew what sort of animals they were.She knew they were baboons. They were of the species known as the"pig-faced" baboon or "chacma" (_Cynocephalus porcarius_), which isfound in nearly every part of South Africa where there are high cliffswith caves and crevices--the favourite dwelling-places of the baboon.
Of all the monkey tribe the baboons, or dog-headed monkeys(_cynocephali_), are the most disgusting in form and features. Who doesnot feel disgust when regarding the hideous mandrill--the drill--thehamadryas--or even the chacma? And all these are baboons. The baboonsare peculiar to Africa, and there are six well-known species ofthem:--the common baboon of North Africa, the "papion" of the south andwestern coast, the "hamadryas or tartarin" of Abyssinia, the "mandrill"and "drill" of Guinea, and the "chacma" of the Cape Colony.
The habits of these animals are as disgusting as their appearance. Theymay be tamed, and made "pets" of; but dangerous pets they are, as theywill, upon, the slightest provocation, bite the hand that feeds them.
Their great strength of body and jaw, and their long canine teeth, givethem a dangerous power, which they often make use of. No dog is a matchfor one, and the hyena and leopard often come off second best in anencounter with a baboon.
They are not carnivorous, however, and only tear their enemy to pieceswithout eating it. Their food consists of fruits and bulbous roots,which they well understand to dig out of the ground with the sharp nailsof their hands.
Although they will not attack man if left alone, they become dangerousassailants when hunted and brought to bay.
Many odd stories are told of the chacma baboon among the settlers ofSouthern Africa, such as their robbing the traveller of his food, andthen going off to some distance, and mocking him, while they devour it.The natives also say that they sometimes use a stick in walking,"crowing" for roots, and in self-defence. Also, when a young one hassucceeded in finding a choice root, and is observed by an older andstronger one, that the latter takes it away; but, should the young onehave already swallowed it, then the bully picks him up, turns him headdownward, and shakes him until he is forced to "disgorge!" Many suchtales are current in the country of the boers, and they are not allwithout foundation, for these animals most certainly possess the powerof reflection in a high degree.
Totty from her perch saw enough to convince her of this, had she beenherself inclined to philosophise. But she was not. She was only a littlecurious about the manoeuvres of the animals, and she called Trueey andlittle Jan up into the tree, in order that they might share thespectacle with her. All the others were off hunting.
Jan was delighted, and ran up the ladder at once. So did Trueey and allthree stood watching the odd movements of the four-handed creatures.
They perceived that the troop was actually marching in order; not inline, but with some understood arrangement. There were scouts upon thewings, and leaders in front. These were baboons of greater age and sizethan the others. There were calls and signals, and the change of accentand tone would have convinced any one that a regular conversation wasgoing on. The females and younger ones marched in the middle for bettersecurity. The mothers carried their infants upon their backs, or overtheir shoulders. Now a mother would stop to suckle her littleoffspring--dressing its hair at the same time--and then gallop forwardto make up for the loss. Now one would be seen beating her child, thathad in some way given offence. Now two young females would quarrel, fromjealousy or some other cause, and then a terrible chattering wouldensue, to be silenced by the loud threatening bark of one of the chiefs!
Thus proceeded they across the plain, chattering, and screaming, andbarking, as only monkeys can.
What were they after?
That question was answered very soon. Trueey and Jan, and Totty saw, totheir dismay, that the baboons were not out upon an idle errand. Theywere after the maize-plants!
TOTTY IN TROUBLE.]
In a few minutes most of the troop had entered the corn-field, and werehidden from view by the tall stems and broad leaves of the plants. A fewonly could be seen,--large old fellows, that stationed themselvesoutside as sentinels, and were keeping up a constant interchange ofsignals. The main body was already stripping the plants of theirprecious fruit.
But a singular appearance presented itself beyond the corn-field, wherea line of baboons, stationed at equal distance from one another,extended away to the very bottom of t
he cliff. These had been left by aregular manoeuvre,--a deployment--as the troop traversed the plain incoming to the field. For what purpose?
That was soon apparent. In less than two minutes after the crowddisappeared under the shelter of the maize-plants, the long heads intheir husks were seen showering out towards the line, as if flung by thehand of man! Those placed at the near end of the line immediately tookthem up, pitched them to the next, and these to the next, and so on,until, in a very short while from the time a head was plucked from thestalk, it was delivered to the storehouse of the baboons far off amongthe cliffs!
Had this work gone on much longer the field-cornet would have had but apoor gathering in harvest time. The baboons thought the corn ripeenough, and would soon have made a crop of it, but at this moment theiroperations were interrupted.
Totty knew but little of the danger she underwent, when she ran forthwith nothing but that long broom-handle to drive off a troop of chacmas.She only thought of the loss her kind master was sustaining; and downthe ladder she hurried, and ran straight out to the corn-field.
Several sentinels met her by its edge, grinned, chattered, screamed,barked, and showed their long canine teeth; but they only received ablow over their ugly snouts from the broom-handle. Their cries summonedthe others; and in a few moments the poor Hottentot was standing in themidst of an angry circle of chacmas, that were only prevented fromspringing in upon her by the expert manner in which she continued to plythe broom-stick.
But this slight weapon would not have served much longer, and Totty'sfate--that of being torn to pieces--would soon have been sealed, had notfour horsemen, or rather "quagga-men," at that moment galloped up to herrescue.
These were the hunters returning from the chase; and a volley from theirguns at once scattered the ugly chacmas, and sent them howling back totheir caves.
After that the field-cornet looked well to his maize, until it was readyfor gathering; when it was all brought home, and deposited in safety outof the reach of either birds, reptiles, quadrupeds, or _quadrumana_.