HIPPOPOTAMUS-SHOOTING 



253 



considerably. The current carried the body beyond our dug- 

 out ; but it was ultimately secured and lashed to the side of the 

 canoe. 



Going down-stream with a swift current is one thing, but 

 working up-stream against it in a heavy dug-out with a hippo 

 in tow is preciously different. Expecting to be back at Fajao in 

 a couple of hours, we had brought no food with us, and not even 



LANDING-PLACE AT FAJAO. 



matches. The hippo was dragged to the nearest papyrus sudd, 

 and then and there cut up on the squashy surface, our feet sinking 

 ankle-deep in the water. 



The Soudanese have an ingenious method of getting a 

 fire. Two dry sticks and a bit of tinder, represented by a 

 scrap of bark-cloth in this instance ; this was all that was 

 required. It was interesting to watch the process, and one 

 appreciates it the more, when about to share in the blessing 

 of having a fire. One of the men selected two dry sticks. About 

 the middle of one stick, placed horizontally on the ground and 

 held down by the two feet, a small hole is scratched. The other 



