364 
HIPPOPOTAMUS CHARGES THE CANOE, [chap. xii. 
possible succeeded in bringing the canoe within about 
300 yards of the base, but the power of the current 
and the whirlpools in the river rendered it impossible 
to proceed farther. There was a sand-bank on our 
left which was literally covered with crocodiles lying 
parallel to each other like trunks of trees prepared 
for shipment; they had no fear of the canoe until we 
approached within about twenty yards of them, when 
they slowly crept into the water; all excepting one, 
an immense fellow who lazily lagged behind, and im¬ 
mediately dropped dead as a bullet' from the little 
Metcher No. 24 struck him in the brain. 
So alarmed were the boatmen at the unexpected 
report of the rifle that they immediately dropped into 
the body of the canoe, one of them losing his paddle. 
Nothing would induce them to attend to the boat, as I 
had fired a second shot at the crocodile as a “ quietus/ 
and the natives did not know how often the alarming 
noise would be repeated. Accordingly we were at the 
mercy of the powerful stream, and the canoe was 
whisked round by the eddy and carried against a thick 
bank of high reeds;—hardly had we touched this ob¬ 
struction when a tremendous commotion took place in 
the rushes, and in an instant a great bull hippopotamus 
charged the canoe, and with a severe shock striking the 
bottom he lifted us half out of the water. The natives 
who were in the bottom of the boat positively yelled 
with terror, not knowing whether the shock was in any 
way connected with the dreaded report of the rifle; 
the black women screamed; and the boy Saat handing 
me a spare rifle, and Eicharn being ready likewise, we 
looked out for a shot should the angry hippo again 
attack us. 
A few kicks bestowed by my angry men upon the 
recumbent boatmen restored them to the perpendicular. 
The first thing necessary was to hunt for the lost pad¬ 
dle that was floating down the rapid current. The 
hippopotamus, proud of having disturbed us, but doubt¬ 
less thinking us rather hard of texture, raised his head 
