242 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
forest, that I determined, if ever fate should lead me in that direction, I would make 
enquiries. 
Soon after reaching the Uganda Protectorate at the end of 1899,,I came in contact with 
a large party of dwarfs who had been kidnapped by a too enterprising German impresario, who 
had decided to show them at the Paris Exhibition. As the Belgians objected to this procedure, 
I released the dwarfs from their kidnapper, and retained them with me for some months in 
Uganda, until I was able personally to escort them back to their homes in the Congo Forest. 
i had other reasons connected with my Government business for visiting the north-western 
part of the Congo Free State. As soon as I could make the dwarfs understand me by means of 
an interpreter, I questioned them regarding the existence of this horse-like creature in their 
forests. They at once understood what I meant; and pointing to a zebra-skin and a live mule, 
they informed me that the creature in question, which was called OKAPI, was like a mule with 
zebra stripes on it. When I reached Fort 
Mbeni,in the Congo Free State, on the west 
bank of the river Semliki, I put questions 
to the Belgian officers stationed there. 
They all knew the okapi, at any rate, when 
dead. Asa living animal they had none 
of them seen it, but their native soldiers 
were in the habit of hunting the animal 
in the forest and killing it with spears, 
and then bringing in the skin and the 
flesh for use in the fort. One of the 
officers declared there was even then a 
freshly obtained skin lying about in the 
precincts of the fort. On searching for 
this, however, it was discovered that the 
greater part of it had been thrown away, 
only the gaudier portions having been cut 
into strips by the soldiers to be made into 
bandoliers. These strips, together with 
similar ones obtained from natives in the 
forest, I sent to England, to Dr. P. L. 
Sclater, for his consideration. Furnished 
by the Belgian officers with guides, and 
Fe 
' 
Photo by York & Son} [Notting Hull taking with me all the dwarfs whom 
MALE AND FEMALE GIRAFFES I had brought from Uganda, I entered 
Giraffes are said to be very affectionate animals the forest, and remained there for some 
days searching for the okapi. All this 
time I was convinced that I was on the track of a species of horse; and therefore when the 
natives showed the tracks of a cloven-footed animal like the eland, and told us these were 
the foot-prints of the okapi, I disbelieved them, and imagined that we were merely following 
a forest eland. We never saw the okapi; and as the life in the forest made the whole expedition 
extremely ill, and my time was required for official work elsewhere, I was obliged to give up 
this search. Meantime, I had elicited from the natives, whom I questioned closely, that the 
okapi was a creature without horns or any means of offence, the size of a large antelope or 
mule, which inhabited only the densest parts of the forest, and generally went about in pairs, 
male and female. It lived chiefly on leaves. The Belgian officers, seeing that I was disappointed 
at not obtaining a complete skin, offered to use their best efforts to obtain one for me, and 
send it on to Uganda after my departure. 
This promise was eventually redeemed by Mr. Karl Eriksson, a Swedish officer in the 
Belgian service. Mr. Eriksson sent me a complete skin and two skulls. The skin and the 
