164 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA 



bull,' and besides these there were three or four more 

 very severely wounded which were spouting blood 

 throughout the pool. 



The next day I renaoved my wagons to the bank 

 where I had waged successful war vrith the hippopot- 

 ami. Here we halted beneath a shady tree with a 

 very dark green leaf, and having drawn up the wagons, 

 we cast loose the trek-tows, and, marching the two 

 spans of oxen down to the edge of the river, dragged 

 out one of the sea-cows high and dry. After breakfast 

 I rode down the river with Carey to seek those I had 

 wounded. Having ridden about three miles down the 

 river, we heard sea-cows snorting ; and on dismounting 

 from my hors» and creeping in through very dense 

 thorny cover which, here clothed the banks, I found a 

 very fine herd of about thirty hippopotami basking in 

 the sun ; they lay upon a sand-bank in the middle of 

 the river, in about three feet of water. After taking a 

 long time to make a selection, I opened my fire and 

 discharged my four barrels : one sea-cow lay dead, and 

 two others were stunned and took to the other side, but 

 eventually recovered and were not numbered with the 

 slain. I continued with them till sundown and fired a 

 good many shots, but only bagged one other cow : they 

 were very shy and cunning. 



On the 20th I again rode down the river to the pool, 

 a,nd found a herd of sea-cows still there ; so I remained 

 with them till sundown, and bagged two very first-rate 

 old sea-cows, which were forthcoming next day. This 

 day I detected a most dangerous trap constructed by 

 the Bakalahari for slaying sea-cows. It consisted of a 

 sharp little assagai or spike most thoroughly poisoned, 

 and stuck firmly into the end of a heavy block of thorn- 

 wood about four feet long and five inches in diameter. 



