TO LAKE NAIVASHA 221 



white pelicans floated on the water. Once we saw a string 

 of flamingoes fly by, their plumage a wonderful red. 



Immediately after leaving the launch we heard a hippo, 

 hidden in the green fastness on owr right, uttering a med- 

 itative soliloquy, consisting of a succession of squealing 

 grunts. Then we turned a point, and in a little bay saw 

 six or eight hippo, floating with their heads above water. 

 There were two much bigger than the others, and Cuning- 

 hame, while of course unable to be certain, thought these 

 were probably males. The smaller ones, including a cow 

 and her calf, were not much alarmed, and floated quietly, 

 looking at us, as we cautiously paddled and drifted nearer; 

 but the bigger ones dove and began to work their way past 

 us toward deep water. We could trace their course by 

 the twisting of the lily pads. Motionless the rowers lay on 

 their oars; the line of moving lily pads showed that one 

 of the big hippo was about to pass the boat; suddenly 

 the waters opened close at hand and a monstrous head ap- 

 peared. "Shoot," said Cuninghame; and I fired into the 

 back of the head just as it disappeared. It sank out of sight 

 without a splash, almost without a ripple, the lily pads 

 ceased twisting; a few bubbles of air rose to the surface; 

 evidently the hippo lay dead underneath. Poling to the 

 spot, we at once felt the huge body with our oar blades. 

 But, alas, when the launch came round, and we raised the 

 body, it proved to be that of a big cow. 



So I left Cuninghame to cut off the head for the muse- 

 um, and started off by myself in the boat with two rowers, 

 neither of whom spoke a word of English. For an hour 

 we saw only the teeming bird life. Then, in a broad, shal- 

 low lagoon, we made out a dozen hippo, two or three very 



