THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 233 



muzzle of my rifle, without which night-shooting is very uncer- 

 tain. We had fallen asleep ; but in about half an hour we were 

 awakened by another tremendous splash, and once more this 

 mad beast came charging directly at us as though unhurt. In 

 another instant he was at the diahbeeah ; but I met him with a 

 ball in the top of his head, which sent him rolling over and over, 

 sometimes on his back, kicking with his four legs above the 

 surface, and again producing waves which rocked the diahbeeah. 

 In this helpless manner he rolled for about fifty yards down the 

 stream, and we all thought him killed. To our amazement he 

 recovered, and we heard him splashing as he moved slowly along 

 the river through the high grass by the left bank. There he 

 remained, snorting and blowing; and as the light of the moon 

 was of no service in the dark shadows of the high grass, we 

 waited for a considerable time, and then went to bed, with the 

 rifle placed in readiness on deck. In a short time I heard louder 

 splashing. I again got up, and perceived him about eighty yards 

 distant, walking slowly across the river in the shallows. Having 

 a fair shot at the shoulder, I fired right and left with the No. 8 

 Reilly rifle, and distinctly heard the bullets strike. He never- 

 theless reached the right bank, when he presently turned round 

 and attempted to recross the shallows. This gave me a good 

 chance at the shoulder, as his body was entirely exposed. This 

 time he staggered forward at the shot and fell dead in the shallow 

 flat of the river." 



On the following morning Baker examined the animal and 

 found that it had received three shots in the shoulder, four in 

 the head, one of which had broken the lower jaw ; another had 

 passed through its nose and ranging downward had cut off one 

 of the large tusks. 



" I never witnessed such determined and unprovoked fury as 

 was exhibited by this animal," says Baker ; "he appeared to be 

 raving mad. His body was a mass of frightful scars, the result 

 of continual conflicts with bulls of his own species. I can only 

 suppose that 'the attack upon the vessels was induced by the 

 smell of the raw hippopotamus flesh which was hung in long 



