200 SAVAGE SUDAN 



in red ribbons, festoons all the neighbouring trees or, 

 in default of trees, long withy-fences erected for the 

 purpose. Within two hours little is left on the skeleton. 



Opposite, on the south bank, squat Nuers, watching 

 with envious eyes. They are at enmity with the Shilluks 

 but, having no canoes, cannot cross ; or else there would 

 ensue a fight. 



We reserved only the tongues for ourselves all kinds 

 of tongues, by the way, are excellent, nor do they vary 

 inter se in their well-known generic flavour ; and our 

 crew always saw to keeping for themselves a lion's share 

 of meat for biltong. 



In this region we observed what was to me a new and 

 surprising habit of the hippo ; though perhaps it would 

 be more accurate to say that in these sequestered swamps 

 certain hippopotami still retain an ancient life-habit that 

 in the dim past ere man appeared on the scene may 

 have been their normal custom. Nowadays, in all 

 frequented regions, hippos habitually spend the entire 

 day in the water, only emerging to feed ashore after 

 darkness lends a measure of security, and returning 

 before dawn. Here, however, in regions remote, where 

 scarce a human foot intrudes (since swamps and sudd 

 repel even the savage) many hippos have developed the 

 habit if they had ever lost it of remaining ashore 

 throughout the entire day. The first indications of 

 the fact occurred to Lynes who, penetrating, with other 

 objects, the inmost recesses of swamp and bog, encountered 

 somnolent monsters in unwonted and wholly unexpected 

 haunts. Nothing, however, was revealed to view. There 

 was a resounding crash amidst viewless papyrus, possibly 

 a momentary glimpse of grey hide might be vouchsafed 

 that was all. L. naturally concluded that the unseen 

 beasts were buffalo ; and since buffalo fall within my 

 department, I promptly followed up the clue. The 

 results, as recorded in diary, read as follows: Landed 

 at three o'clock, in breathless, blistering heat. This 



