The Eastern Congo 



resembling large apes : never having seen or heard of any 

 such during my wanderings in the Congo. 



Our meeting with the Pygmies concluded, they decided 

 to celebrate our arrival and their departure for the chase 

 with a dance which commenced after sundown. This 

 proved exceedingly entertaining to watch in the glow of 

 the firelight, and was moreover accompanied by the most 

 melodious music I have ever heard at any native dance in 

 Africa. It was the same mellow " Pipes of Pan " music 

 that I heard in the woods when the Wambute were hunting, 

 but this time harmonised with their pecuHar intonations, 

 accompanied by a small drum. The forest dwarfs I put down 

 as the best native musicians in Africa.* 



Before describing the small measure of success that 

 came my way in my search for an okapi, a few notes on 

 this interesting ruminant will I hope, interest the reader, 

 for I have frequently been asked even in Africa : what is an 

 okapi ? 



Belonging to the same family as the giraffes, the okapi 

 has diverged considerably both in form and colour, under 

 the influence of its forest surroundings, from its well known 

 long-necked cousin of the Acacia plains. In size it resembles 

 a large donkey, the female, which is hornless, showing a 

 tendency, almost unique amongst mammals, to grow larger 

 than the male. Its body colour is a rich chocolate with a 

 purple tinge, the legs being striped black and white, and the 

 latter colouring continuing well up the buttocks. The tail 

 is comparatively small, ending in a tuft of bristle-like hairs. 

 The head, which in the males is surmounted with a pair of 



* I am informed on good authority that some pygmies when dancing beat 

 their chests with their hands, making a loud clopping noise, sunilar to a gorilla 

 or orang-utan. 



