With Flashlight and Rifle ^ 



yards from where the monsters made their way up from 

 the water, while my men's tents were farther away. 



I can imderstand of course that travellers who give 

 their men orders to fire at any animal shovvinir itself at 

 night will report differently. As I punished my sentries 

 most severely if they fired a single shot without per- 

 mission, even at night. I am able to speak positively 

 upon this matter. I was travelling with the sole object 

 ot studying the life of the animals, and could not allow 

 myself to become a prey to groundless and ignorant 

 fears about their attacking me. No doubt it sounds fine 

 to hear how the camp had to be defended at night 

 against the attacks of these monsters from the deep. 

 I myself, to my regret, have never experienced any- 

 thing of the kind, and I am inclined to believe, therefore, 

 that it must generally have been a case of precipitate 

 blazing away rather than of real danger. 



I was much astonished to see my Wandorobo set 

 to work calmly dragging out of a (|uite small j)Ool a 

 hi])])op()tamus which I had shot, although there were two 

 other "makaita" in the pool at the time. Thev had to 

 go within about three yards ot the sjjot, and almost 

 touched the two lixing hippopotamuses which had not been 

 shot by me, and which came up snorting al)Out every 

 two minutes. This e.xperience — and 1 had main' such — 

 will perhaps help also to modifv x\\v. impression derived 

 from fanciful accounts given 1)\ certain other travellers. 



The attitud(' of the hippopotamus towards the croco- 

 dile is ver}' interesting to note. The two animals live 

 side by side on lh(; best of terms, the (juite young 



272 



