CHAPTER XXL 
Roose:ve:i.t Hunts on Lake; Naivasha—Adds a Butt Hippopota¬ 
mus TO His Cotttction—Ammunition Ustd by Cotontt 
Roostvktt in Africa—Exciting Combat witpi Hippo¬ 
potamus. 
C OLONEL ROOSEVELT inaugurated a novelty in big game 
hunting when in pursuit of elephant and rhinoceros in Africa, 
armed with an American repeating rifle of far lighter bore than the 
weapons with which British sportsmen pursue the same animals. 
Although the rhino is considered about as dangerous game as can 
be found on the Dark Continent, due to his habit of blindly charging 
at top speed any object he deems hostile, the former President used 
a rifle of only .405 caliber in the chase. 
This rifle is better known by the American term of forty 
caliber, and it would have been considered little short of suicide 
fifteen years ago to attempt the hunting of such big game with such 
a caliber. Improvements in high pressure, smokeless powder and 
the development of the steel jacketed bullet have increased the 
efficiency of the arm many times since then, however. With the steel 
bullet he used the arm when encountering the African buffalo, which 
is said to be a far more dangerous customer than his American 
namesake used to be. 
This same gun with soft-pointed bullets was used on such game 
as lions. It has terrific “ smashing power, as it has tremendous 
velocity, and the bullet spreads or mushrooms on impact, thus tear¬ 
ing a hole through soft tissue and the lighter bones through which 
the hand could be thrust. To penetrate the tough hide of a rhino, 
however, the steel bullet is used. 
For lighter game, such as the African species of deer, and for 
long-range shooting the Colonel carried two .303 caliber repeaters, 
popularly known as '' thirties.’’ 
For feathered game he used two twelve-gauge repeating shot- 
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