218 TO LAKE NAIVASHA [ch. ix 
bigger ones dived and began to work their way past 
us toward deep water. We could trace their course by 
the twisting of the lily-pads. Motionless the rowers lay 
on their oars ; the line of moving lily-pads showed that 
one of the big hippo was about to pass the boat. 
Suddenly the waters opened close at hand, and a 
monstrous head appeared. “ Shoot,” said Cuninghame, 
and I fired into the back of the head just as it dis¬ 
appeared. It sank out of sight without a splash, 
almost without a ripple; the lily-pads ceased twisting; 
a few bubbles of air rose to the surface. Evidently the 
hippo lay dead underneath. Poling to the spot, we 
at once felt the huge body with our oar blades. But, 
alas! when the launch came round, and we raised the 
body, it proved to be that of a big cow. 
So I left Cuninghame to cut off the head for the 
Museum, and started off by myself in the boat with 
two rowers, neither of whom spoke a word of English. 
For an hour we saw only the teeming bird life. Then, 
in a broad, shallow lagoon, we made out a dozen hippo, 
two or three very big. Cautiously we approached them, 
and when seventy yards off I fired at the base of the ear 
of one of the largest. Down went every head, and utter 
calm succeeded. I had marked the spot where the one 
at which I shot had disappeared, and thither we rowed. 
When we reached the place, I told one of the rowers to 
thrust a pole down and see if he could touch the dead 
body. He thrust according, and at once shouted that 
he had found the hippo ; in another moment his face 
altered, and he shouted much more loudly that the 
hippo was alive. Sure enough, bump went the hippo 
against the bottom of the boat, the jar causing us all to 
sit suddenly down—for we were standing. Another 
bump showed that we had again been struck, and the 
