THE STORY OF AN OUTING 



crocodile diet, and the most ambitious crocodile would 

 hardly attempt to swallow a hippo, but they find them- 

 selves thrown together in these narrow pools, and the 

 natural aggressiveness of both breeds antagonism. A 

 hippo in his element, the water, is an antagonist to be 

 reckoned with. The crock measured seventy-two inches 

 in girth back of the fore-legs. After skinning we opened 

 him and found a water-buck in his stomach. A water- 

 buck is about twice the size and weight of the Adiron- 

 dack deer. He of course crushed the bones more or 

 less as he swallowed. The contents of his stomach gives 

 some idea of the reptile's weight. 



These crocodiles lay in the pools and at the fords and 

 seize the foot of any crossing animal, drag it down 

 beneath the water, and when drowned the process of 

 crunching, swallowing, and deglutition ensues. Oh! the 

 tragedy of wild life! 



The next day's trek brought us to buffalo grounds. 

 We saw a rhino on the way, looked him over, rode round 

 him, and turned him down as not eligible. We reached 

 our camping-ground about I P.M. At 4 P.M a good 

 rhino appeared about three hundred yards from camp. 

 The spear-grass here, and generally, was luxuriant and 

 as tall as the rhino. I thought I made sufficient allow- 

 ance, but shot too high and only wounded him, and not 

 very seriously, so the guides said. 



Soon after four o'clock I started for buffaloes, and 

 one-half mile from camp saw some working toward me. 

 They were in the thorn scrub and evidently proposed 

 coming out into the open to feed. In aproahi_ng_they 

 would^ have to_cross a donga, which is t-he same ^s an 

 arroyo in the Rockies, a_us\\ ally dryjwaterco^se T which 



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