Instead of biting,
as I had expected, the astonished captives sat astride of the
horses, and clung tenaciously with both arms to the necks of
their steeds, screaming with fear. The hunt was over, and we
halted to secure the prisoners. Dismounting, to my surprise the
Arabs immediately stripped from a mimosa several thongs of bark,
and having tied the baboons by the neck, they gave them a
merciless whipping with their powerful coorbatches of
hippopotamus hide. It was in vain that I remonstrated against
this harsh treatment; they persisted in the punishment, otherwise
they declared that the baboons would bite, but if well whipped
they would become "miskeen" (humble). At length my wife insisted
upon mercy, and the unfortunate captives wore an expression of
countenance like prisoners about to be led to execution, and they
looked imploringly at our faces, in which they evidently
discovered some sympathy with their fate. They were quickly
placed on horseback before their captors, and once more we
continued our journey, highly amused with the little entr'acte.
We had hardly ridden half a mile, when I perceived a fine bull
tetel (Antelopus Bubalis) standing near a bush a few hundred
yards distant.
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