272 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
bottom of the lake, the bubbles rising to the surface 
betray their whereabouts, so that we are able to follow 
them. Presently a huge head appears above the 
surging waters, and aiming as nearly behind the ear as 
possible, another murderous salute rings out. Round 
whirls the blood-stained foam, and the dying prey 
sinks, to rise to the surface half an hour after death, so 
that the hunter is sure not to lose his booty. 
Hippopotamus hunting is not at all dangerous ; only 
once in twenty-two excursions were we at all in a 
critical situation, and that was owing to a leak being 
made in our boat by the sudden charge of a female, 
with a young one beside her. We stopped the leak 
with a felt hat, and got safely to the land. 
These lakes abound with crocodiles, and the blood of 
a wounded hippopotamus generally attracts them. 
Many an old fellow did we bring down with our rides. 
When Dun and I were hunting on the Inchlabani, we 
must have catered entirely for these huge reptiles, for 
we only carried away the skin, teeth, and fat of our 
victims, leaving the huge carcases near the lake. Then, 
when all was quiet, and the natives had drawn oil', 
crowds of crocodiles would come up, and feast on the 
remains. The skin of one of the hippopotami we killed 
in Zululand weighed bve hundred and ten pounds when 
fresh. 
Although very sociable animals, the male hippo¬ 
potami often have skirmishes with each other, as is 
proved by the fearful scars found on their skins. 
Ordinary leaden bullets, though they penetrate the 
hide of these animals, become battened or broken when 
they strike the huge bones, and do not indict mortal 
wounds. It is therefore usual, as in buffalo, elephant, 
and rhinoceros hunting, to employ guns of very heavy 
calibre, and bullets hardened with tin or quicksilver— 
four parts of lead to one of tin, for instance—and to 
bre at as short a distance as possible. Amongst the 
Dutch elephant hunters I have seen bullets so large, 
that four of them together weighed a pound. 
After a variety of adventures, Mohr and his party at 
