EXPERIENCES IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 711 
and many floating water plants, one especially being very 
noticeable as it had a small bright yellow flower, and a small 
bay, where the water was covered with this weed, looked 
quite golden. I he pools at the north end of the lake are full 
of Hippopotamuses which, next to the Elephant, is the largest 
animal inhabiting the African continent : very extraordinary 
do they look, as they only keep their pink looking eyes and 
nost 1 ils above the water, sinking and rising again to blow 
tveiy three minutes or so; during the day we used to hear 
them booming and grunting, but at night they made no noise, 
as they aie out on the banks of the lake feeding on the grass 
and riparian vegetation ; the “ Hippo is supposed to l>e of 
rather an inoffensive disposition and is not looked upon as 
a dangerous animal, all 1 know is that one came for me one 
fine morning looking very nasty ; I was hiding up in a little 
floating mass of Papyrus reeds as I wanted to shoot a Pelican : 
it was in deep water a good way out on the lake and there 
was just room for me to hide, the whole bunch of reeds not 
being two yards square, suddenly an enormous Hippo’s head 
appeared out of the water and after steadily gazing at me 
tor a moment or two, swam slowly in mv direction : when 
within ten feet, he opened his huge jaws and gave a loud sort 
of snort, and I began to think I was going to be reduced to 
matchwood by one snap of those great tusks or at any rate be 
drowned, as my tiny island was being rocked violently from 
side to side by his movements in the water : luckily I had my 
big rifle with me and when he was quite close I rammed it 
right down his throat and pulled the trigger, that finished 
that Hippo ! The following night a large Hippo ran amuck 
through the camp, going clean through my gunbearer’s tent, 
why he didn’t trample the man to death I can’t think ! and 
then charged the tethered mules ; it was pitch dark and one 
could see nothing, only hear this ponderous brute like a steam 
roller crashing through the camp. One which I shot was so 
large that a “ boy ” was able to cut a hole in its side, crawl 
in and entirely disappear from view inside the animal’s body, 
to emerge again a few moments later devouring raw bits of 
still quivering meat. 
