“Not exactly.” was the reply, “but they are closely related to them. They are known as chaemas, and when full grown are as large as an English mastiff and excel him in strength and agility. The chaema has a tail about half as long as his body and with a tuft of hair at the end. Like most other monkeys he is a great thief, and cannot be trusted in the presence of provisions of which he is fond. He has such a keen scent that it is very difficult to poison him, and he can find water when the most experienced traveler or bushman is unable to discover it. The Hottentots in traveling carry a tame chaema with them, and when unable to find water they turn him loose and follow him. After carefully surveying the ground, he selects a spot and begins to dig; the Hottentots dig where he directs, and almost invariably succeed in finding the water that they want.”
“But how about his serving as a watch-dog?”
“He can hear sounds that are inaudible even to the dogs; in a camp he will always give the alarm when danger approaches, and so much do the dogs rely on him, that they go to sleep in the fullest confidence that he will call them in case their services are wanted. When he gives the alarm, they are on the alert and rush in the direction he indicates.
“He generally lives on good terms with the dogs, and one traveler who carried a chaema tells how the beast used to jump on the backs of the dogs when he was tired. Some of them used to carry him without objection, but others did not like to be employed as pack animals. One in particular always stopped when the chaema mounted his shoulders, and allowed the caravan to pass on out of sight. The monkey did not like to be separated from the caravan, and as it disappeared over the plain or among the hills he would dismount and follow it. The cunning dog then joined him in running to overtake the caravan, but always managed to keep the chaema a little in advance, so that he would not be likely to jump again on the dog's shoulders.”
“Which shows that the intellect of the dog was superior to that of the chaema,” George remarked.
“The dog's reasoning powers are superior to those of the monkey.” said Mr. Graham, “but the latter has the greater faculty for pure imitation.—Ah! there goes the curtain and the performance is about to commence.”
Here is the account which Harry wrote after his return from the theater: