UNADULTERATED 'BUTTER! 207 



they would not give it up to him unless compelled to do 

 so. Essafi and the hippo party have not returned yet 

 (9 P.M.), and Essafi senior is in a great state of anxiety 

 about his son's safety, fearing he may have fallen into 

 the hands of the Base. It is far more probable that, 

 having gorged themselves with hippo, raw and cooked, 

 they have found sleeping on the spot more conducive 

 to their personal comfort. 



March 6. The hippo party returned home safely\ r ; 

 last night at a very late hour with three camels well 

 laden with the precious food. We have now laid claim 

 to an equal share of the fat, for after it has been melted 

 down as a means of preservation it makes excellent 

 dripping, and all our things are cooked with it. At first I- 

 Mohamed objected to use it, preferring to send occasion- 

 ally to the Hamran village for some horrible-looking 

 mixture of fat, milk, &c., which he honoured with the 

 name of butter. Since, however, we have found the 

 hippo-fat so excellent, we have positively refused to buy 

 him any more of his pet compound, and now we have 

 at least the satisfaction of knowing what our butter 

 is made of. Would that we could always do so in 

 future ! 



Vivian has had a long stalk after a herd of maariffs, 

 and ultimately succeeded in killing a fine doe with a 

 splendid pair of horns. They are much thinner and 

 more regularly annulated than the buck's. I spent the 



