196 SAVAGE SUDAN 



The cause of the mishap was now clear. The lever 

 actuating the catch-block which secures the attachment 

 of telescope to barrel, had been tampered with ; it had 

 been lowered, so that the telescope lay merely resting 

 on its "slides," undamped, and after the recoil of the 

 shot it was left absolutely loose. 



Travelling- forward along White Nile, though in con- 

 stant touch with hippos daily and all day, however leisurely 

 you cruise, yet but little chance is afforded the voyager 

 of making intimate acquaintance with his huge neighbours. 

 For that purpose, it is necessary to sojourn stationary 

 among them. We enjoyed abundant opportunity. Once, 

 for a week, Candace lay anchored right in the "pitch" 

 of a school. Their normal landing-place a deep arched 

 inlet among the papyrus lay broad on our beam, only 

 60 yards away. In ordinary course this herd would have 

 spent their days precisely where we had selected our 

 moorings. Owing to our intrusion they temporarily 

 shifted their quarters 100 yards lower down-stream, and 

 all day wallowed, dipping, diving, grunting, and blowing, 

 right under our stern. Often a pinky-brown toto climbed 

 upon its mother's back, or a -bull reared his massive head 

 to rest on the quarters of his neighbour next ahead. It 

 seemed a monotonous existence ; but here there were 

 no sand-banks, so the hippos had perforce to make the 

 best they could of deep water. At other, and more 

 congenial points of the river, like the "enterprising 

 burglar," they "love to lie a-basking in the sun," with 

 half their bulk exposed. 



When, after a big morning's hunt, we had returned 

 early to our ship, it amused to sit on deck and watch 

 their proceedings. Towards sundown, but sometimes a 

 full hour earlier, our monster neighbours would wake 

 up, and begin with intense caution to draw upstream 

 towards their landing-place, scrutinising the obstructive 

 ship with inquiring eyes and often raising half their 



