ELEPHANT-HUNTING 223 



Just then a heavy thunder-storm broke over us, and the torrent 

 of rain soon obHterated every trace of the trail. 



Soaked to the skin, we had to return to the camp dis- 

 heartened. My camp-bedstead and a blanket had turned up, 

 but not a change of dry clothing. A glorious camp-fire, in 

 spite of the rain, awaited us ; and we steamed ourselves at it. 

 My cook had brought a chicken, but no other provisions, and 

 he proceeded to roast it over the fire. 



It was getting dark, w^hen live hippos were noticed in the 

 lake, some four or five hundred yards higher up. Being wet 

 through, it was impossible for me to get more wet. I there- 

 fore went stalking through the dripping elephant - grass to 

 within two hundred yards of the hippos. This time I used my 

 Martini-Henri rifle. I fired but one shot. The wounded hippo- 

 potamus reared himself half out of the water and then fell 

 heavily backwards. The Soudanese by my side called out 

 " Eiva, kalass, mut." I know but a few words of Arabic, but 

 understood this to mean " Yes, he is done for, he is dead." For 

 all this, the wounded hippo escaped that day ; about a fortnight 

 later the natives brought me the four large tusks. They had 

 found the dying animal, and had despatched it with their spears, 

 keeping the meat and hide for their own use. 



Having divested myself of my wet clothes and rolled myself 

 up in a blanket, I sought the shelter of the grass-hut. It was 

 not pleasant to be roused more than once that night by the 

 lugubrious howling of a hungry hyaena close to me, as I have 

 had to attend to more than one patient who has been seized 

 in his sleep by one of these cowardly brutes. This one need 

 only have poked its nose through my grass shelter to have 

 grabbed me. Early next morning we returned to Kibero. 



My second adventure with elephants was on the west shore 

 of Lake Albert, in the Lur country. We were about to re-cross 

 the lake, when a severe storm burst over us and prevented us. 

 I was sitting in my tent, annoyed at the delay, when natives 

 brought word that a herd of elephants were browsing in the 

 adjoining forest. We tracked the animals through the forest to 

 a grass plain just beyond it. They had evidently been alarmed. 

 As the wind was in our favour, I got to within sixty yards ; but, 

 owing to the grass being some ten feet high, I had to climb a 

 tree to see the animals. My head-servant and another man 

 climbed up after me, but the others decamped to a little knoll 



