THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



hippo No. 2 took to the water. With fast beating heart, 

 I finally ventured to peep over the top of the hill between 

 the bushes, with the camera ready for a " snap," when, to 

 my great delight, I found hippo No. 3 lying exactly where 

 I first had seen him. In an instant I had focused and, 

 just as I snapped, the wary monster awoke, so that in this 

 picture he is seen with half-open eyes. As quickly as pos- 

 sible I changed my film, but before I had a chance of using 

 either camera or gun, the hippo had discovered me and 

 quickly dived into the stream. 



All along the shore of this river we found well-trodden 

 hippo tracks of their peculiar characteristic shape; the 

 hippo is so thick and his legs so short in comparison that 

 between the imprints of the fore and hind legs on one side 

 and those of the other side there is a regular track, formed 

 sometimes by the belly of the big pachyderm, as he waddles 

 along. We were surprised ^to find that the hippo in these 

 regions sometimes goes as far as a mile or more away 

 from the river at night to feed on his favorite grass and 

 leaves. 



After I had succeeded in photographing the sleeping 

 monster, I signaled to the men to come on. I then sent 

 one party half a mile upstream, while another went down 

 about one thousand yards, to where the still flowing stream 

 tumbled down in a long succession of rapids. Both parties 

 were instructed to frighten the hippos away toward me. 

 With a few men I remained in the shadow of a tree that 

 overhung the little hill, from which I had taken the suc- 

 cessful photograph. From this place we had an excellent 

 view over the whole hippo pool. We quickly constructed 

 a good cover of branches and high grass, behind which we 



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