NOTES ON AFRICAN MONKEYS 



683 



tilings, was often mischievous. At one 

 time we had a I'ooster and some chick- 

 ens ; it was her special delight to chase 

 these around and around the tent and 

 through the jjorter's yard — until one 

 day the rooster chased her in return 

 and frightened her out of her wits. 

 The cook of the expedition was tor- 

 mented continually by various tricks 

 she developed. She would steal into 

 the kitchen and, if he were out, would 

 unhook every pot and pan from the 

 roof where he kept them hanging, and 

 so quickly that he could not reach her 

 until the mischief was done. Many a 

 time I had to mollify his temper by 

 giving him another supply of tobacco 

 when she had carried his away. 



It was no unusual thing to see the 

 black boys roll on the grass and howl 

 at her antics, especially when she ate 

 an egg or a locust. The locusts were 

 two or three inches long and very 

 strong, yet she was expert in catching 

 them and holding them tightly by the 

 legs so that they could not kick. The 

 monkeys of this species like meat as 

 well as fruit, and they not only eat in- 

 sects and spiders but also, no doubt, 

 kill the young of many small mammals 

 besides robbing many a bird's nest. 

 The natives brought hens' eggs into the 

 camp to sell and J. T. would steal an 

 egg whenever she could get the chance 

 and go up on the roof of the tent with 

 it. There, with the egg held firmly in 

 her hands, she would crack the top and 



lick thi' lluid as ii ran down the side. 

 If the fluid ran a little too fast, she 

 would get very excited, stand on one 

 leg, and continually jump into some 

 new position more ludicrous than the 

 one before in her effort to keep the egg 

 from getting on her fur. 



Finally came the time at a Mount 

 Kenia camp when Mr. Akeley had been 

 mauled by an elephant and spent diffi- 

 cult weeks in recovering from his in- 

 juries. He used to get worried an<] 

 become despondent because he was con- 

 valescing slowly and his work was mak- 

 ing no progress. Sometimes when I saw 

 the worry coming into his face, I tied 

 J. T. to the foot of the cot, and wonder- 

 ful playtimes would follow. She would 

 pretend to be terribly frightened at any 

 slightest movement of the bed covering 

 and would jump wildly up in air like a 

 playing kitten; she would never tire of 

 playing hide and seek ; she would watch 

 demurely for an opportunity and snatch 

 his pipe or tobacco and hide them at 

 the foot of the cot out of his reach. 

 When he was able to walk down the 

 path from the tent she was not content 

 unless she could ride on his shoulder; 

 then she would jump down and play 

 hide and seek from the grass, jumping 

 out at him from unexpected places. She 

 had never played quite in this way be- 

 fore and never did it afterward, and it 

 seemed almost strange to us that she 

 should help us out and cheer us when 

 we needed the help and cheer so sorely. 



