400 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



start with a light outfit to see whether we could not over- 

 take the herd. 



An amusing incident occurred that evening. After dark 

 some of the porters went through the reeds to get water from 

 the pond in the middle of the swamp. I was sitting in my 

 tent when a loud yelling and screaming rose from the swamp, 

 and in rushed Kongoni to say that one of the men, while 

 drawing water, had been seized by a lion. Snatching up 

 a rifle I was off at a run for the swamp, calling for lanterns; 

 Kermit and Tarlton joined me, the lanterns were brought, 

 and we reached the meadow of short marsh grass which 

 surrounded the high reeds in the middle. No sooner were 

 we on this meadow than there were loud snortings in the 

 darkness ahead of us, and then the sound of a heavy ani- 

 mal galloping across our front. It now developed that 

 there was no lion in the case at all, but that the porters had 

 been chased by a hippo. I should not have supposed that 

 a hippo would live in such a small, isolated swamp; but 

 there he was on the meadow in front of me, invisible, but 

 snorting, and galloping to and fro. Evidently he was much 

 interested in the lights, and we thought he might charge 

 us; but he did not, retreating slowly as we advanced, until 

 he plunged into the little pond. Hippos are sometimes 

 dangerous at night, and so we waded through the swamp 

 until we came to the pool at which the porters filled their 

 buckets, and stood guard over them until they were through; 

 while the hippo, unseen in the darkness, came closer to us, 

 snorting and plunging possibly from wrath and insolence, 

 but more probably from mere curiosity. 



Next morning Akeley, Tarlton, Kermit, and I started 

 on our elephant hunt. We were travelling light. I took 

 nothing but my bedding, wash kit, spare socks, and slippers, 

 all in a roll of waterproof canvas. We went to where we 

 had seen the herd and then took up the trail, Kongoni and 

 two or three other gun-bearers walking ahead as trackers. 

 They did their work well. The elephants had not been in 

 the least alarmed. Where they had walked in single file 



