883 A JOURNEY UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 



Natives and porters who came into Naivasha with other par- 

 ties, declared they had seen many indications that hons in that 

 vicinity were more plentiful than for years past, and that they were 

 growing fiercely bold, almost entering several of the camps in their 

 efforts to drag down a victim. 



Colonel Roosevelt had had many narrow calls since he began 

 hunting in Africa, but the experience he went through the day 

 previous to breaking camp on the border of Lake Naivasha was one 

 of the most thrilling incidents in that his life was constantly in 

 danger. That he is alive to-day is due to his coolness and 

 wonderful marksmanship. 



ROOSEVELT BATTLES ^VITH TWELVE HIPPOPOTAMI. 



At nine o'clock in the morning Colonel Roosevelt, accompanied 

 only by two negro porters to row his small boat, started out on Lake 

 Naivasha to seek a calf hippopotamus which he was lacking for 

 his collection for the Smithsonian Institute. The ex President, in 

 his skiff, had reached an isolated part of the lake far away from 

 his camp, when a school of twelve hippos surrounded his craft, 

 threatening with every movement to upset it and spill the ex- 

 President and his rowers into the lake, where they would have met 

 instant death, for the hippos were attacking the small boat with 

 savage frenzy. 



Several literally hurled themselves against the sides of the little 

 rowboat, while two or three dived deep into the waters of the lake 

 and came up under the boat, striking it with their backs in an 

 attempt to overturn it and throw its occupants into the water. 



The native boatmen were in a terrible panic and their own 

 actions, added to the impact of the bodies of the attacking hippos 

 threatened at every moment to overturn the small boat. Shouting 

 to his rowers to sit still, a warning which they were too frightened 

 to heed. Colonel Roosevelt seized his heavy express rifle and 

 selected a magnificent cow hippo which seemed to be the leader of 

 the attacking school. This hippo he killed with one shot and with 

 the next shot he killed a magnificent bull hippo, the finest killed m 

 the vicinity in years. 



