388 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



was so, and my Hottentots swam in and brought her to the 

 bank. Her flesh proved most excellent. In the afternoon I 

 rode down the river with Ruyter, and shot one very splendid 

 old waterbuck, with a princely head, which I kept. 



The next day, after proceeding a few miles, I killed a very 

 fine buck of the serolomootlooque. I again rode down the 

 river's bank, with two after-riders, to seek hippopotami, the 

 natives reporting that they were to be found in a pool in ad- 

 vance, where another river joined the Limpopo. After riding 

 a short distance I found the banks unusually green and shady, 

 and very much frequented by the sea-cow ; and presently in 

 a broad, deep, and long still bend of the river, I disturbed 

 the game I sought. 



" They were lying in their sandy beds among the rank reeds 

 at the river's margin, and on hearing me galloping over the 

 gravelly shingle between the bank and the reeds, the deposit 

 of some great flood, they plunged into their native strong- 

 hold in dire alarm, and commenced blowing, snorting, and 

 uttering a sound very similar to that made by the musical 

 instrument called a serpent. It was a fairish place for an 

 attack, so, divesting myself of my leather trowsers, I ordered 

 my after-riders to remain utterly silent, and then crept cau- 

 tiously forward, determined not to fire a shot until I had 

 thoroughly overhauled the herd to see if it did not contain a 

 bull, and at all events to secure, if possible, the very finest 

 head amongst them. 



" The herd consisted of about fourteen hippopotami ; ten 

 of these were a little farther down the stream than the other 

 four. Having carefully examined these ten, I made out two 

 particular hippopotami decidedly larger than all the others. 

 I then crept a little distance up the river behind the reeds, 

 to obtain a view of the others. They were two enormous old 

 cows with two large calves beside them. The old ones had 

 exactly the same size of head as the two best cows below ; I 

 accordingly chose what I thought the best of these two, and, 



