258 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



The hippo was a self-confident, truculent beast; it went 

 under water once or twice, but again came out to the papy- 

 rus and waded along the edge, its body out of water. We 

 headed toward it, and thrust the boat in among the water- 

 lilies, finding that the bay was shallow, from three to six 

 feet deep. While still over a hundred yards from the 

 hippo, I saw it turn as if to break into the papyrus, and at 

 once fired into its shoulder, the tiny pointed bullet smash- 

 ing the big bones. Round spun the great beast, plunged 

 into the water, and with its huge jaws open came straight 

 for the boat, floundering and splashing through the thick- 

 growing water-lilies. I think that its chief object was to 

 get to deep water; but we were between it and the deep 

 water, and instead of trying to pass to one side it charged 

 straight for the boat, with open jaws, bent on mischief. 

 But I hit it again and again with the little sharp-pointed 

 bullet. Once I struck it between neck and shoulder; once, 

 as it rushed forward with its huge jaws stretched to their 

 threatening utmost, I fired right between them, whereat 

 it closed them with the clash of a sprung bear trap; and 

 then, when under the punishment it sw,erved for a mo- 

 ment, I hit it at the base of the ear, a brain shot which 

 dropped it in its tracks. Meanwhile Kermit was busily 

 taking photos of it as it charged, and, as he mentioned 

 afterward, until it was dead he never saw it except in the 

 "finder" of his camera. The water was so shallow where I 

 had killed the hippo that its body projected slightly above 

 the surface. It was the hardest kind of work getting it out 

 from among the water-lilies; then we towed it to camp 

 behind the launch. 



The engineer of the launch was an Indian Moslem. 

 The fireman and the steersman were two half-naked and 

 much-ornamented Kikuyus. The fireman wore a blue bead 

 chain on one ankle, a brass armlet on the opposite arm, 

 a belt of short steel chains, a dingy blanket (no loin cloth), 

 and a skull-cap surmounted by a plume of ostrich feathers. 

 The two Kikuyus were unconsciously entertaining com- 



