no CHIEFS & CITIES OF CENTRAL AFRICA 



could not bear them to be in front, and thought we 

 might cut off a corner and catch them up, so he 

 attempted a crossing of greater depth. I felt he was 

 unwise, but was as ignorant of his tongue as he was 

 of mine, and I did not want him to believe that white 

 women were fearful, so I sat tight and said nothing. 

 The bank shelved unexpectedly steeply, and very soon 

 he and I were sitting together at the bottom of the 

 Logone. After that I changed my clothes and warmed 

 myself up by a hippo hunt. Heat was induced by 

 excitement more than exercise, for our part was to sit 

 very still in a likely swamp and watch. Aji and Man- 

 dara were on the look-out a little farther off, and their 

 abrupt flight gave us notice that a hippo was near. 

 We stalked it, and looking over the brow of the bank 

 found ourselves within four yards of one. It was on 

 the brink of deep water, and we could not have re- 

 gained the body, so it was no good shooting, and we 

 were left aglow with excitement to speculate whether 

 if it came farther ashore a shot would drop it before 

 it reached us. The point was never put to the test, 

 for darkness fell and it swam away. 



Our native guide was a particularly nice man, and 

 curious about us and our way of life, to which he 

 evidently compared his own. His one adornment was 

 a skin, the embryo seat afore-mentioned, and he was 

 full of chagrin that we were so much better off than 

 he ; however, he determined to make the most of his 

 possessions, and when he faced us he wore it to the 

 front, when he turned round he moved it to the back. 

 On our way back to camp he trod on a fish. It had 

 swum up a narrow passage, dug for the purpose, and 

 could not turn round to escape again. He felt about 



