CH. ix] OTTERS 211 



wound ; but the startled creature then rose high in the 

 water, and he shot it in the lungs. It now found difficulty 

 in staying under, and continually rose to the surface 

 with a plunge like a porpoise, going as fast as it could 

 toward the papyrus. After it we went, full speed, for 

 once in the papyrus we could not have followed it ; and 

 Kermit finally killed it, just before it reached the edge 

 of the swamp, and, luckily, where the water was so 

 shallow that we did not have to wait for it to float, but 

 fastened a rope to two of its turtle-like legs, and towed 

 it back forthwith. 



Tliere were otters in the lake. One day we saw two 

 playing together near the shore, and at first we were all 

 of us certain that it was some big water-snake. It was 

 not until we were very close tliat we made out the 

 supposed one big snake to be two otters ; it was rather 

 interesting, as giving one of the explanations of the 

 stories that always appear about large water-snakes, or 

 similar monsters, existing in almost every lake of any 

 size in a wild country. On another day I shot another 

 near shore ; he turned over and over, splashing and 

 tumbling ; but just as we were about to grasp him, he 

 partially recovered and dived to safety in the reeds. 



On the second day we went out in the launch I got 

 my hippo. We steamed down the lake, not far from 

 the shore, for over ten miles, dragging the big, clumsy 

 row-boat, in which Cuninghame had put three of our 

 porters who knew how to row. Then we spied a big- 

 hippo walking entirely out of water on the edge of the 

 papyrus, at the farther end of a little bay which was 

 filled with water-lilies. Thither we steamed, and when 

 a few rods from the bay, Cuninghame, Kermit, and I 

 got into the row-boat. Cuninghame steered, Kermit 

 carried his camera, and I steadied myself in the bow 



