  We present results for the static three- and four-quark potentials in SU(3)
and SU(4) respectively. Using a variational approach, combined with multi-hit
for the time-like links, we determine the ground state of the baryonic string
with sufficient accuracy to test the $Y-$ and $\Delta-$ ans\"atze for the
baryonic Wilson area law. Our results favor the $\Delta$ ansatz, where the
potential is the sum of two-body terms.
