The Lions of Lake Edward 



Yet another interesting feature of the lake is the very 

 large number of hippo to be found along the sand banks 

 and reed beds of its south-western shore. Here during the 

 day these animals, which are rapidly decreasing in numbers 

 in other parts of Africa, lie in the shallows one on top of 

 another in " schools " of thirty and forty at a time, and at 

 night turn the reedy fiats into a perfect stamping ground 

 in search of food. I have never seen so many together before 

 nor found them so tame. It was possible to walk along a 

 sand-spit to within twenty-five paces of the drowsy beasts 

 before they would shift. 



Round our camp were some specially succulent reed 

 beds which had sprung up young and green after the natives 

 had cleared the surrounding vegetation when building the 

 rest-house. It would seem that this patch of herbage, which 

 lay directly behind the spot selected for our kitchen, had 

 an irresistible attraction for Behemoth, for during the evening 

 the cook rushed in to us with bulging eyes and the breathless 

 statement that a hippo was about to invade the sacred pre- 

 cincts of the culinary art. As the kitchen lay round the 

 corner of the reed-hut, not fifteen paces away, this news 

 was quite exciting, and the moon being at the full, my wife 

 now hoped to realise her wish of seeing a hippo at really 

 close quarters. She had, however, on this occasion donned 

 a white dress for the evening, which of course would frighten 

 away anything when seen in the bright moonlight, so telling 

 her to cover herself with my black oilskin and handing her 

 over to the tender mercies of the cook, whom I instructed 

 to cautiously follow on behind me, I went in advance, rifle 

 in hand, to reconnoitre. Before reaching the kitchen my 

 nostrils were greeted with a strong odour of stable and I 



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