in the morning sunshine. The number and size of
the fish, turtles, and crocodiles were extraordinary ;
many beautiful gazelles approached from all sides
for their morning draught; wild geese, generally
in pairs, disturbed the wary crocodiles by their
cry of alarm as we drew near, and the desert
grouse in flocks of many thousands had gathered
together, and were circling in a rapid flight above
the water, wishing, but afraid, to descend and drink.
Having a shot gun with me I fired and killed six
at one discharge, but one of the wounded birds
having fallen into the water at a distance of about
120 yards, it was immediately seized by a white-
throated fish - eagle, which perched upon a tree,
swooped down upon the bird, utterly disregarding
the report of the gun. The Bishareen Arabs have
no fire-arms, thus the sound of a gun was unknown
to the game of the desert.
I had killed several wild geese for breakfast in
the absence of the hippopotami, when I suddenly
heard the peculiar loud snorting neigh of these
animals in my rear; we had passed them unperceived
as they had been beneath the surface. After
a quick walk of about half a mile, during which
time the cry of the hippos had been several times
repeated, I observed six of these curious animals
standing in the water about shoulder-deep. There
was no cover, therefore I could only advance upon
the sand without a chance of stalking them ; this
caused them to retreat to deeper water, but upon
my arrival within about eighty yards, they raised
their heads well up, and snorted an impudent
challenge. I. had my old Ceylon No. 10 double
rifle, and, taking a steady aim at the temple of
one that appeared to be the largest, the ball cracked
loudly upon the skull. Never had there been
such a commotion in the pool as now ! At the
report of the rifle, five heads sank and disappeared
like stones, but the sixth hippo leaped half out of
the water, and, falling backwards, commenced a series
of violent struggles : now upon its back ; then upon
one side, with all four legs frantically paddling, and
raising a cloud of spray and foam ; then waltzing
round and round with its huge jaws wide open,
raising a swell in the hitherto calm surface of the
water. A quick shot with the left-hand barrel
produced no effect, as the movements of the animal
were too rapid to allow a steady aim at the forehead
; I accordingly took my trusty little Fletcher*
double rifle No. 24, and, running knee-deep into
the water to obtain a close shot, I fired exactly
between the eyes, near the crown of the head.
At the report of the little Fletcher the hippo disappeared
; the tiny waves raised by the commotion
broke upon the sand, but the game was gone.
This being my first vis-à-vis with a hippo, I
* This excellent and handy rifle was made by Thomas Fletcher,
■of Gloucester, and accompanied me like a faithful dog throughout
my journey of nearly five years to the Albert N’yanza, and returned
with me to England as good as new.