NO. 2 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I918 33 



my crewmen not more than 200 yards away on the opposite side 

 from me and a native village in plain view 500 yards away at an 

 angle of about 30° from the crewmen's village. I have never before 

 seen so many chimpanzees as I find here and I have never seen them 

 so indififerent to the presence of human beings. Even while I was 

 building and had as many as 18 or 20 natives moving about the place 

 those reckless apes would often cross the open plain in full view and 

 with apparent composure. 



" Mr. Aschemeier has collected well on to 2,000 specimens and 

 nearly all of them he has killed with his own gun. Some of 

 these specimens are exceedingly rare and valuable. When you recall 

 the fact that he came as taxidermist of the expedition and not as 

 chasseur, he was not expected to provide the specimens that he was 

 to preserve. 



" We have forwarded six consignments of specimens to the Mu- 

 seum and have a seventh well on the way ; but we find great difBculty 

 in getting the steamers to take them from Port Gentil (Cap Lopez), 

 because they are all under direction of the French military authorities. 

 Two of our last shipments were still at Port Gentil last month, wdiere 

 one of them has been lying since last January and all steamers 

 declined to take it. Once both shipments were taken aboard the 

 steamer and bill of lading signed when the captain changed his mind 

 and sent the whole lot back on shore, with the accumulated charges 

 of 40 francs for embarkation and debarkation. 



"We have sent 12 or 13 specimens of bufifalo, several specimens 

 and species of antelope and two or three fine specimens of the " red 

 river hog," besides a large collection of monkeys, rejiresenting six 

 or seven species of both sexes and various ages. I think in all we 

 have sent over 1.500 up to this time. Of course this includes birds, 

 etc., not insects, and we have on hand a goodly number. 



" Yesterday I bought a fine, fresh skin of a thing the natives call 

 aiiiina. It is something very much like the civet cat in its general 

 appearance, but it is not of the ordinary type. I have never examined 

 one, but I think they are more canine than feline and the natives 

 regard them as such. At any rate, it is a fine specimen and I am 

 taking great care to cure it in the best manner possible. 



" I will call your attention to a singular fact about the monkeys 

 and especially of the mangabeys of this region. There appears to be 

 l)revalent among them some kind of disease resembling cancer, and 

 it is not at all unusual to see one with his nose eaten away or some- 

 times one side of his face, while otherwise he appears active and 



