184 MA YOLO. Chap. IX. 



said, ' Mayolo will never get up again!' But here 

 I am, alive and well ! Give me some powder, that 

 I may fire off the guns, to let the surrounding people 

 know tliat I am well ! " 



I quietly said, " Not to-day, Mayolo, for your head 

 is still weak." 



He laughed, and went away shouting, " I knew 

 the Oguizi did not like to see me ill. I am Mayolo! 

 I will take him further on ! " 



Throughout the month of April I frequently re- 

 galed myself with what I used to consider a very 

 good dinner : that is, a haunch of monkey cooked on 

 the grille. Formerly I had always had a great aver- 

 sion to eating monkeys (not, however, from any ideas 

 about their relationship to man), but hunger and the 

 scarcity of other animal food had compelled me lately 

 to make man}^ a meal on these animals. This is the 

 height of the monkey season in Otando-land, the 

 season lasting through March, April and May, during 

 which months they are so fat that their flesh is really 

 exquisite eating. I know of no game better or mora 

 relishing ; the joints must be either roasted or grilled, 

 to bring out the flavour of the meat to perfection. At 

 all other times of the year except these three months 

 monkeys are lean, tough, and tasteless. It is the 

 same with the wild hog of these regions ; from 

 February to the beginning of May, when the fatten- 

 ing Koola nut is ripe and falls in abundance from the 

 trees, the wild hog gets something like an overfed 

 pig at home, and the meat is delicious eating. I felt 

 to-night that I had dined well, and did not envy 

 Sardanaj)alus his dainties, for I doubted whether this 



