130 MAMMALS 



off ; it was a dark night, and only a black shape could be 

 seen. Hippos are very fond of lush grass which grows 

 along low marshy or sandy stretches of shore, and these 

 were dubbed " grazing grounds," for the grass was always 

 kept short. A magnificent opportunity of photographing 

 a grazing hippo was lost because a camera was not to hand. 

 In company with the fly boys I was going down to the 

 morning's work on the fly beach of Bugalla. As we 

 emerged from the bordering strip of forest there was a 

 hippo on the sand, grazing quite openly on the grass. 

 I walked along the shore towards him to see how close he 

 would allow me to come ; he had his back towards me but 

 turned round at once, saw me, stared, and went on grazing. 

 I continued to approach, thinking it would be good fun 

 to pick up a stick and give him an unexpected blow from 

 behind. But his guardian angel was true to his duty, 

 and when I was within about thirty yards an ibis suddenly 

 took to wing with its raucous alarm cry, " Aa-aa-aa." 

 The hippo turned round in a fright, made an angry face 

 at me, and rushed into the water, leaving me lamenting. 

 I should like to conclude my remarks on the hippo by the 

 following. A new monthly journal was founded to deal 

 with Colonial interests, and a specimen copy of the first 

 number reached me on the islands. In it was an account 

 of a lecture given by some one on Sleeping Sickness at 

 a meeting of a photographic society, wherein were found 

 these astonishing statements. The lecturer said it had been 

 proved that the Tse-tse could not exist without a feed of 

 crocodile's blood (!), and that it was well known that the 

 hippo had an inveterate habit of destroying crocodiles' 

 eggs (or was he supposed to eat them ? My memory 

 fails on this point). Here, then, said the lecturer, is the 

 solution of the problem of Sleeping Sickness in a nutshell. 

 Preserve the hij)po, and he does the rest ! One can 

 picture the establishment of " hippo hatcheries " all 

 round the lake, and schools where youngsters will be 



