IN THE WILDS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVIII, Issue 18599, 29 December 1920, Page 10

IN THE WILDS.

SEARCH FOR GOLD AND DIAMONDS. PROSPECTOR'S STORIES. “The Glamour of Prospecting,” by Lieutenant Fred 0. Cornell, 0.8. E., is the storyy of the wanderings of a South African prospector in search of diamonds and precious metals. The hook is hi 11 .'of thrills. THE CAVE OF BABOONS. What for sheer adventure could heat this* description of a visit to a dark canyon when in search, of water:— “ One day, whilst thus ongaged Ramson (tho author’s companion) had an adventure which might have proved very serious. He haddosoonded a deep and narrow defile leading down from an old watercourse in tho mountains- As he got deeper tho igorgo narrowed, until it became a veritable canyon, gloomy, dark, and profound! The walls were in places barely six feet apart, and towered up on either hand perpendicularly for many hundreds of feet, and the whole of this deep rent or crack in the earth—for it was little more—was worn ice-smooth by the action of water. It was towards evening, and only a little light filtered into tho place. Here and there ca.me a straight drop of eight_ or ten feet, and it was after negotiating several of these that Ransson, peering clown, caught sight of the tops of some rushes in a wider space below, and ho knew he was near water. Ho swung j himself down another abrupt narrow place, and suddenly became aware of a strong bestinl smelt. THE LIGHT THAT, DID NOT FAIL. “ He. cocked .his rifle and peered into the gloom, and his eyes, gradually becoming accustomed to it, showed him that ho was in‘the'midst of a big troop of huge baboons. They were absolutely motionless, watching him; they were on every hand, on every projection of rock, above him, below him, - before, him, and behind him, for ho had passed some of them without seeing them, and so near were several - that he could have touched them with his rifle. And tilers they sat, as still os statues, aiid glarejl at him; and Ransson said that it was one of his most uncanny experiences to see all those pairs of eyes glowering on him in tho gloom. To ahoot would probably have meant being torn limb from limb; to turn his back on them and climb tho slippery rook would have left him at their mercy; to go cn was irapossible, as there was a„ sheer , drop of twenty feet into the water. i “ In this dilemma ho did quite mechanically what he eould not have bettered by hours of thinking, for he pulled out his matches and lit his pipe. And as- the little flame flickered up one of the big baboons—tbcjy are huge follows in these mountains—gave a hoarse/ grunting call, and away tho whole troop fled, actually brushing againnt Ransson as they did so, clambering up the almost vertical rocks and disappearing almost instantly/' A WATER FROLIC. Were 13 another, and a imicli pleasanter, picture of the baboons:— *•* <Jno incandesoout day, when we had .'bathed and were lolling for a midday spoil on a patch of emerald sward near A'riep, we were lucky enough to witness a scene I am never likely to forget, and would not have missed for anything. Here the rivor is particularly beautiful; there are numerous small islands, covered ’frith dense thickets, of reeds, khat are a favourite feed-ing-place for tho .few, hippo still loft , in tho Orange. Somo of them are well wooded with high - willows of a particularly vivid green, and on the overhanging branch of one of these I saw a baboon appeal - , clamber out to the extremity, stand up at full height, and dive into the deep pool beneath just as a man would do. He was followed by another and another, until there were at least a score of them climbing, diving, swimming to the hank, and up the tree again in an endless chain, splashing each other, and enjoying themselves exactly like a crowd of schoolboys.” . * ■

A MEETING WITH LEOPARDS. Mr Cornell had > some exciting hours in the Bak River Gorge:— ‘ * Thought of any danger from leopards never entered my head, for though there wa-s abundant evidence that the kloofs were full of them, and wo knew that they had killed lots of natives , thereabouts, they kept out of

our way, and though we heard them all round us at times, we had hot seen them.

“ Now, on my way down, T had wasted a, shot cm a splendid lammer ranger, a line specimen of an eagle that got up from a rock within shot and with a big classic in his claws, -that I had killed, i “I cut his wings, be ale, and talons off, and left them hanging in a tall thorn-bush,. and as I neared this spot , 1. thought of trying to locate the bush and talcing my trophy. I had just decided that I was quite near it when, just in front of mo, rose a chorus of yelps _ and snarls, and it was evident that jackals wore quarrelling over the eagle’s carcass. I was feeling around for a stone to shy at the small scavengers, when I heard a sound as of n. soft but heavy body landing amongst the gravel and twigs, another stifled yelp, and then the snarling, coughing growl of a leopard, or rather two leopards, who appeared to he carrying on a similar quarrel to the one they had so summarily put a stop to. “THE BLOOD TRAIL.” “I realised several things instantly. No cartridges, no trees except undrinkable thorn-trees, and no matches. A fire would have scared them immediately. No way home except past (hem—well, I’d havo to go back f I did not like tho idea of a night ]<r the river, but even that pis allor had to go by the board, for as I turned to sneak back I heard the cough of another leopard in that direction. Clearly this was no place for me. but what on earth was I to do? “ CHORUS, GENTLEStEN 1!” “ Well, something had to be done, and. having heard that the human roioe war, feared by all animals, I let off a yell that soared ine eo that I dropped the gun. It echoed up among tho rocks like the screech of a steamsiren ; it woko the baboons on the peaks and they barked in faint imitation ; far up 'the ravine a big owl took up the refrnuj and passed it on farther, '(die snarling of the leopards stopped instantly, and the shuffle of a displaced stone among the rocks showed they had bounder! away. So, picking up the useless gun, I look my courage in both hands and 1 liv out ’ for camp. Every few yards T repeated the first yell. “ But when, after a bit, I stoppedfor sheer want of breath and hoarseness, I heard those Dlarned leopards malting remarks to each other across the ravine: they were accompanying me on either side I Long before I reached tho camp I was as hearse as a crow and my yell lacked vim. I fell ovor Tocks and into crevasses, and once glissaded down a elope of slippery granite into about three feet of extremely wot, cold water. Rut at long length T turned a corner of tho defile aud came in sight of the welcome fire, anc! heard the leopards no more.”