257 



A FIGHT WITH A HIPPOPOTAMUS 



The great White Nile river, which flows north, out of 

 Lake Victoria Nyanza, and joins the Blue Nile at 

 Khartoum, is full of hippopotami, who lie concealed in 

 grassy swamps on the river bank by day, and come out 

 to play in the cool of the evening. In many places this 

 river is choked up by mud and vegetation, so that very 

 often the water is not more than five or six feet deep, 

 therefore only small boats can float easily. Under these 

 circumstances a huge heavy beast, like the hippopotamus 

 (which means in Greek ' river-horse '), can do great 

 damage, and travellers and explorers have many tales to 

 tell of their narrow escapes. 



Nobody had more adventures with these troublesome 

 animals than Sir Samuel Baker, when, thirty years ago, 

 he set out from Khartoum on his journey south. Some- 

 times the hippopotamus would be seen leaving his grassy 

 bed, where he had been sleeping during the long hot day, 

 his hard skin preserving him from the flies which are the 

 pests of those countries. But more often his presence 

 would be guessed by an agitation on the surface of the 

 stream, and a loud snorting noise, and then his ugly, shape- 

 less head would be thrust out. 



With such a thick hide to deal with, Sir Samuel pre- 

 ferred, in his encounter with a hippopotamus, to use a 

 weapon more certain than an ordinary bullet. He liked 

 to allow the animal to get within thirty yards of him, and 

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