1 66 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



potamus, which is only kept above the surface for a 

 few seconds at a time, offers a very small mark. As 

 I have said, these animals are abundant in the Chobe, 

 as also in the Zambesi, and usually congregate together 

 in herds of from three or four to twenty members, 

 though the old bulls are often seen alone. They 

 remain in the river all day, but at night come out 

 and feed along the banks, sometimes wandering to a 

 considerable distance from the water. According to 

 the natives — and they ought to know — they are very 

 vicious, and it is dangerous to approach them in 

 canoes, as they have a nasty trick of diving down and 

 seizing these flimsy craft from beneath in their huge 

 jaws, crushing them of course like nutshells. When 

 shot they immediately sink to the bottom, and, if 

 lean, and the weather be cold, will not rise to the surface 

 for many hours, but in warm weather, and when fat, 

 they come to the top in a much shorter time. 



The next day being Sunday, and as I had been 

 working hard all the week, I did not go out hunting, 

 but remained in the camp with Mr. Garden. About 

 mid-day some natives came across from the little 

 village opposite, bringing a few sweet potatoes and 

 ground-nuts for sale, which I purchased for elephants' 

 fat. On making inquiries about the different sorts 

 of game to be found in this part of the country, they 

 told me there were lots of " lechwe " in the marsh on 

 the other side of the river, and as this was a species 

 of antelope quite new to me, a specimen of which 1 

 longed to obtain, I persuaded them to take me across 

 at once, to try and get a shot at one, as on the follow- 

 ing day I wished to continue my journey up the river. 

 We soon crossed the main stream, which seemed to 

 be very deep, when, laying down their paddles, my 

 boatmen took to long poles with a fork at the end, 



