should have been overwhelmed
by the great and ferocious apes had I not by this time succeeded in
re-loading the elephant gun. When they were right on us, I fired, with
even more deadly effect than before, for at that distance every slug
told on their long line. The howls and screams of pain and rage were
now something inconceivable. One might have thought that we were doing
battle with a host of demons; indeed in that light--for the overhanging
arch of rock made it very dark--the gnashing snouts and sombre glowing
eyes of the apes looked like those of devils as they are represented by
monkish fancy. But the last shot was too much for them; they withdrew,
dragging some of their wounded with them, and thus gave us time to get
our men up the cliff. In a few minutes all were there, and we advanced
down the passage, which presently opened into a rocky gulley with
shelving sides. This gulley had a water-way at the bottom of it; it was
about a hundred yards long, and the slopes on either side were topped
by precipitous cliffs. I looked at these slopes; they literally swarmed
with baboons, grunting, barking, screaming, and beating their breasts
with their long arms, in fury. I looked up the water-way; along it,
accompanied by a mob, or, as it were, a guard of baboons, ran Hendrika,
her long hair flying, madness written on her face, and in her arms was
the senseless form of little Tota.

She saw us, and a foam of rage burst from her lips. She screamed aloud.
To me the sound was a mere inarticulate cry, but the baboons clearly
understood it, for they began to roll rocks down on to us. One boulder
leaped past me and struck down a Kaffir behind; another fell from the
roof of the arch on to a man's head and killed him. Indaba-zimbi lifted
his gun to shoot Hendrika; I knocked it up, so that the shot went over
her, crying that he would kill the child. Then I shouted to the men
to open out and form a line from side to side of the shelving gulley.
Furious at the loss of their two comrades, they obeyed me, and keeping
in the water-way myself, together with Indaba-zimbi and the other guns,
I gave the word to charge.

Then the real battle began. It is difficult to say who fought the most
fiercely, the natives or the baboons. The Kaffirs charged along the
slopes, and as they came, encouraged by the screams of Hendrika, who
rushed to and fro holding the wretched Tota before her as a shield, the
apes bounded at them in fury. Scores were kill