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Shortly before the event of which we speak, some apes in one of these predatory incursions, were met by a larger number of the Ammi, when several of the former were killed, and one, a small boy, taken prisoner. The Ammi, expecting the Apes to attempt reprisals for this, kept a watch at night, while during the day they guarded their children.

Several times on the day mentioned signs of approaching Apes had been seen. Gimbo, the grandfather of Sosee, who still persisted in walking on four feet, (although the Ammi generally had begun to walk upright), said he could scent the trail of the Apes, and had noticed the marks of one walking on four feet. But Gimbo was deemed a garrulous old man, somewhat unreliable, who claimed exceptional wisdom about the animals lower than men, so that little attention was given to his warning.

The mother of Orlee, however, had observed a sudden starting up of geese from the swamp; but this also raised little suspicion, as they might have been startled by a fox. Later, however, her keen sense of hearing detected successive splashings in the water, as if made by plunging alligators or turtles on the approach of an enemy. She was, accordingly, slow to leave the spot where her child was playing—a girl of three years, the sister of Sosee.