CH. xxn HIPPO AND LION 213 



in the direction of the sound, came upon an 

 extraordinary sight. A lion, having sprung upon 

 a hippopotamus, was tearing fiercely at the poor 

 animal's head with his cruel claws and biting 

 him viciously in the region of the ear, while 

 the hippo, dazed with the onslaught and blinded 

 with the pain, was crashing aimlessly through 

 the grass, going round and round in circles, in 

 a futile effort to rid himself of his antagonist. 

 In the struggle, they got clear of the long 

 grass, and came into the open, where I had a 

 splendid view of the one-sided contest ; but so 

 keen is the scent of a lion that, intent as he 

 was on trying to kill his victim, he caught a 

 whiff of our scent and, looking round and seeing 

 us, dropped from the hippo's shoulders and made 

 swiftly for the long jungle grass. Taking hasty 

 aim, I fired, the bullet striking him in the hip 

 just as he disappeared, while the hippo, freed 

 from his persecutor, rushed madly down to the 

 river and plunged into a deep pool. Following 

 the animal's tracks, I came down to the water 

 and, about a quarter of an hour afterwards, 

 when he rose to the surface to blow, I fired and 

 felt sure that the bullet had penetrated his brain 

 by the peculiar upward jerk that he gave his head 

 and the way he instantly sank. Leaving some of 

 my men to wait for his body to float (which 



