cii. xii] CHASED BY A HIPPO ,341 



*' Where is George Ade ?" for if one unexpectedly meets 



an American cartoonist on a hunting trip in mid-Africa 



there seems no reason why one should not also see his 



crony, an American playright, A year previously 



Mr. and Mrs, Akeley had lunched with me at the 



White House, and we had talked over our proposed 



African trips. Akeley, an old African wanderer, was 



going out with the especial purpose of getting a group 



of elephants for the American Museum, and was 



anxious that I should shoot one or two of them for him. 



I liad told him that I certainly would if it were a 



possibility ; and on learning that we had just seen a 



herd of cows he felt— as I did — that the chance had 



come for me to fulfil my promise. So we decided that 



he should camp with us that night, and that next 



morning we would start with a light outfit to see 



whether we could not overtake the herd. 



An amusing incident occurred that evening. After 

 dark some of the porters went through the reeds to get 

 water from the pond in the middle of the swamp. I 

 was sitting in my tent when a loud yelling and scream- 

 ing rose from the swamp, and in rushed Kongoni to say 

 that one of the men, while drawing water, had been 

 seized by a lion. Snatching up a rifle, I was off at a 

 run for the swamp, calling for lanterns ; Kermit and 

 Tarlton joined me, the lanterns were brought, and we 

 reached the meadow of short marsh grass which sur- 

 rounded the high reeds in the middle. No sooner were 

 we on this meadow than there were loud snortings in 

 the darkness ahead of us, and then the sound of a 

 heavy animal galloping across our front. It turned out 

 that there was no lion in the case at all, but that the 

 porters had been chased by a hippo. I should not have 

 supposed tliat a hippo would live in such a small, 



