"HIPPOS" 157 



ing in the papyrus, I saw two hippos floating 

 leisurely on the surface about two hundred 

 yards away. Every few seconds one of them 

 would open his great jaws and bring them to- 

 gether with a snap as he munched the succu- 

 lent lily-pads and stems. 



The brush about the lake was very thick and 

 in some spots extended inland several hundred 

 yards. All through this growth were wide, well- 

 worn trails. Where the brush was so thick that 

 a person could not penetrate, the hippos had 

 forced their way, leaving a deep foot-path only, 

 and the branches had swung back into position 

 overhead so that to follow them one had to crawl 

 on hands and knees. 



Near camp we found the bleached bones of a 

 half-grown hippo that had been killed by a 

 settler because, either for fun or in fits of ugli- 

 ness, it had persisted in chasing his cattle when- 

 ever they came down to the lake to drink. 



At Lake Naivasha Colonel Roosevelt collected 

 most of the hippos that will some time comprise 

 the group in the National Museum at Wash- 

 ington. He went hunting several times before 

 I finally saw Cuninghame and three of the por- 

 ters in a boat towing a large hippo ashore. The 



