EXPLORATION OF THE BAMINGl 196 



pool, even more picturesque than the first. From thirty 

 the width of the river suddenly swelled to one hundred yards., 

 and formed a beautiful pool ending in a narrow neck not 

 more than twenty yards wide. Here slabs of dark rock and 

 thick trees in the deep shadow of the right bank contrasted 

 strongly with the sunlit sand-bank opposite, where fell the 

 pleasant shade of a group of trees nestling at the foot of 

 a steep red cliff — an ideal spot for a camp ! On a sandy 

 island in the centre of the pool, a hippo and her young one 

 basked in the sun. As we approached, they sank into the 

 water and joined a large school of their fellows, whose 

 black, knobbed heads dotted the water like rocks. 



We all agreed with the hippos that it was a lovely place in 

 which to have a good time, and it was with sighs of regret that 

 we passed through, feeling that we had missed an opportunity ; 

 for clearly this should have been our camping-ground of the 

 night before. However, we made a mental note of its position 

 for our return journey and left the hippos in peace. 



After two days more travelling, we had completed a 

 distance of eighty miles. The river now began to assume a 

 rather different aspect ; there were no sand-banks, and groups 

 of rocks sometimes appeared in the stream which had 

 narrowed to a width of thirty yards. The surrounding 

 country became rocky, with occasional kopjes, 100 ft. 

 in height. These sometimes rested close to the river, and 

 their sides were covered with grass 6 ft. high, which grew 

 all about, making hunting very difficult. 



On August 14, we pitched camp in a place of exquisite 

 beauty where the opposite bank rose 120 ft. into the 

 air, forming a rocky knoll ; here in the hollows and 



