OUR PET APE 



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a few aboriginal Wakwafi women and children with fish, &c, 

 from Lake Jipe wonld cause considerable excitement ; everyone 

 rushed to secure his own Jcitoweo. 1 



When the day was nearing its close our men would invite 

 their young lady visitors to have a dance, a proposal they 

 readily agreed to, and the couples would form in two long rows, 

 the gentlemen opposite the ladies, and foot it nimbly to the 

 measure of some Masai song without words. 



A few days after our arrival the English huntsmen started 

 in different directions to continue their sport. As they meant 

 to be absent a short time only, and we expected to see them 

 back soon, we bade them a very light-hearted farewell ; bat, 

 alas ! we never came across each other again. The chief result 

 of their departure was that the curiosity of the people of 

 Taveta was now concentrated on our camp alone. This was by 

 no means an unmixed advantage, as our tent was the chief 

 object of attraction, and we were literally besieged all day 

 long. The good fellows did not like our wanting to get rid of 

 them at all. 



It will be remembered that Count Teleki had already several 

 times played the part of a medicine-man or conjurer, and at 

 Taveta he gladly exercised his craft, for the natives were very 

 attentive to his instructions and grateful for his help. When we 

 really were too tired to answer any more questions our visitors 

 would turn to our pet ape, Hamis, whom I quite forgot to men- 

 tion before, but who had now become very dear to us, and was 

 generally disporting himself outside our tent. Hamis, as we 

 had dubbed him, shared all our wanderings, and even went 

 home with us to Vienna. He was terribly impudent, and made 

 no secret of his contempt for all black people. He recognised 

 so well the distinctions of rank that he owned no one as his 

 master but Count Teleki, and if no other victim was handy, he 



1 ' Kitoweo ' means a tit-bit of anything, such as meal, fish, rice, panada, &c. 



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