ELMENTEITA IN FEBRUARY 143 



curious liissing snort of a rliiiio. This time it \yas 

 repeated tlirice in rapid succession and close at hand, 

 my two men at once whispering " Kifaru." We were 

 at the moment after hippo, creeping along the narrow 

 belt of sharp rocks and lava which separates the deep 

 water of the hke from dense impenetrable jungle on the 

 Landward side (impenetrable save by creeping along the 

 low tunnels made by hippos). It was no place to take 

 on a rhino. AVe therefore lay low, passing an anxious 

 quarter of an hour. Afterwards by a detour we picked 

 up the spoor inland ; but that rhino had travelled afar. 



After Hippo 



'Twere tedious to relate in detail all the efibrts we 

 made to secure the coveted hippo. Morning after morn- 

 ing we set forth in the small hours, scoured by moon- 

 light every green meadow and grassy pasture for miles 

 around the lake, yet never once did we succeed in 

 finding the great amphibians ashore. Once, it is true, 

 I surprised, close at hand, a half-grown "toto" among 

 the reeds, but him I let de23art in peace. As they 

 refused to meet us on land, we next tried to tackle 

 them in the water. 



On seeing a hippo near the shore it is possible to 

 reach the nearest point of land by advancing at the 

 moment he disappears, lying low before his eyes again 

 break the surface. While stalking them thus we noticed 

 the curious fact that their snorts and grunts are dis- 

 tinctly audible from far under water, and that although 

 no signs or air-bubbles reach the surface. 



The target presented by a hippo when resting at the 

 surface is extremely small. There are his nostrils, repre- 

 sented by the size of a man's hand held flat ; a foot or 

 two behind these, often separated by water, rises the 

 prominent upper portion of the cranium, carrying the 

 eyes and little pig-like ears. The total height of this, 

 as exposed, is perhaps four inches ; but, to be fatal, the 

 bullet must take only the lowest inch. At daybreak on 



