76 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



herent sense of modesty, and that, from some normal, 

 yet incomprehensible, action on his mind, he is in- 

 duced to cover up certain portions of his body. 



On coming here I had the misfortune to make my 

 donkey over to Bombay, to save his foot, which had 

 been galled by too constant walking ; for though un- 

 able to ride, he was too proud to say nay, and was 

 therefore placed upon it, whilst carrying the gun 

 devoted to his charge, Captain Burton's smooth ele- 

 phant. Xow Bombay rode much after the fashion of 

 a sailor, trusting more to balance and good-luck than 

 skill in sticking on ; and the consequence was, that 

 with the first side-step the donkey made he came to 

 the ground an awkward cropper, falling heavily on 

 the small of the stock of the gun, which snapped 

 short off, and was irredeemably damaged. At first I 

 rated him heartily, for this was the second of Captain 

 Burton's guns which had been damaged in my hands. 

 I then told Bombay of the circumstances which led 

 to the accident to the first gun. It was done whilst 

 hippopotamus-shooting on the coast rivers opposite to 

 Zanzibar ; and as Bombay had a little experience in 

 that way to relate, we had long yarns about such 

 sport, which served to improve our Hindoostani (the 

 language I always conversed with him in), as well as 

 to divert our useless yet iinavoidable feelings of regret 

 at the accident, and also killed time. 



One day, when on the Tanga river, near its mouth, 

 I was busily engaged teasing hippopotami, with one 



