KENYA (II) 309 
was eventually agreed to split the tribe in two and each should 
choose a representative, in the form of some animal, to run a race. 
One side chose a dik-dik because it was a speedy runner and was 
small enough not to be impeded by thick bush. The other side 
chose the chameleon, for it was thought that speed might be a 
handicap and would bring about disaster on the rocky course to 
the sacred lake and back. However, the speedy dik-dik made it 
without mishap, so the winning side went to the sacred lake, 
bathed and all turned white. Then they left their black brethren 
and migrated northwards and thus became the forerunners of the 
white race. When the losers visited the lake it was practically dry 
and there remained only sufficient water to wet the soles of their 
feet and the palms of their hands, which alone turned white. So 
the existing Meru people blame the chameleon for their own color 
and any imaginary troubles that go with it. 
Various donors and white hunters had helped to get together a 
large collection of animals which were distributed over a wide 
area on various farms. 
Cleland Scott, from whom I had previously purchased Straw, 
now presented me with another lion and two lionesses—all about 
three-quarters grown—which he called the three Bs, signifying 
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. The middle name is not as 
I heard it, but I changed it for the sake of propriety. 
Altogether it seemed that the collection was becoming too large 
for a single person to cope with on the way home. I therefore 
cabled to the London Zoo for assistance and they responded 
straight away by sending out Bill Harwood of the Zoo staff. 
The collection was probably one of the largest ever shipped on 
the high seas, and to give the reader some idea of the magnitude 
of the operation I quote the list in full: 
2 chimpanzees t leopard 
6 Brazza’s Monkeys 1 Caracal Lynx 
2 Mt. Elgon Colobus Monkeys 4 cheetahs 
1 Stuhlmann’s Monkey 6 Neumann’s Genets (2 black 
1 Gelada Baboon var.) 
1 Ring-tailed Lemur 4 Egyptian Mongooses 
3 Silvery Galagos (black var.) 6 White-tailed Mongooses 
3 lions 3 Black-tailed Mongooses 
