202 In the Heart of Africa 



acquainted with the name of this singular mammal. It is only 

 a few years back that a Scandinavian, Lieutenant Erikson, in 

 the Belgian service, discovered the existence of an antelope-like 

 animal, which was named "Okapi" by the forest dwellers. He 

 was also fortunate enough to secure a skin. Through the 

 mediation of Sir Harry Johnston, Governor of Uganda, the skin 

 reached London, where it excited great comment amongst the 

 savants on account of its unique quality and markings. Soon 

 after it was acquired at a very high price for the Tring museum. 

 Kuhnert's picture is more instructive than pages of description. 

 The striking markings on the legs, the length of the neck, the 

 high withers, and the colour of the head may be regarded as 

 the main characteristics of the creature. The height of the 

 withers corresponds to that of a large ox. 



The most remarkable part of it is how a mammal so con- 

 spicuous in character could have remained concealed until com- 

 paratively recently in a territory which has been under European 

 administration for over twenty years, and in which over 1,000 

 white men live. This circumstance may well lead to the con- 

 clusion that the exploration of this vast forest region, which 

 comprises an area several times the size of Germany, is by 

 no means exhausted. 



The bagging of an okapi by a European can only occur by 

 accident. A systematic pursuit of this excessively shy creature 

 would be almost useless. The density of the forest, the tread 

 of heavy boots, the rustling of the clothes against bushes, would 

 invariably frustrate the attempts of any European hunter. The 

 difficulties may best be illustrated by the fact that in 1905 Major 

 Powell Cotton, at Makala, farther westward in the forest, de- 

 voted six months to the chase of the okapi, and only obtained 

 one animal — and that through the pygmies. At least he had the 

 satisfaction of viewing the much coveted game immediately after 

 it was killed — a privilege accorded to few. 



Our ov/n hopes of getting a shot at an okapi sank very 

 rapidly when we got a closer glimpse into the positively un- 

 fathomable tangle of the forest. We soon discovered that the 



