I
proposed to cross the river, and to follow upon the tracks of the
hippopotamus, as I imagined that the buoy and rope would catch in the
thick jungle, and that we should find him entangled in the bush; but the
old hunter gently laid his hand upon my arm and pointed up the bed of
the river, explaining that the hippo would certainly return to the water
after a short interval.
In a few minutes later, at a distance of nearly half a mile, we observed
the hippo emerge from the jungle and descend at full trot to the bed of
the river, making direct for the first rocky pool in which we had
noticed the herd of hippopotami. Accompanied by the old howarti (hippo
hunter), we walked quickly toward the spot. He explained to me that I
must shoot the harpooned hippo, as we should not be able to secure him
in the usual method by ropes, as nearly all our men were absent from
camp, disposing of the dead elephants.
Upon reaching the pool, which was about a hundred and thirty yards in
diameter, we were immediately greeted by the hippo, who snorted and
roared as we approached, but quickly dived, and the buoyant float ran
along the surface, directing his course in the same manner as the cork
of a trimmer marks that of a pike upon the hook. Several times he
appeared, but as he invariably faced us I could not obtain a favorable
shot; I therefore sent the old hunter round the pool, and he, swimming
the river, advanced to the opposite side and attracted the attention of
the hippo, who immediately turned toward him. This afforded me a good
chance, and I fired a steady shot behind the ear, at about seventy
yards, with a single-barrelled rifle. As usual with hippopotami, whether
dead or alive, he disappeared beneath the water at the shot. The crack
of the ball and the absence of any splash from the bullet told me that
he was hit; the ambatch float remained perfectly stationary upon the
surface. I watched it for some minutes - it never moved. Several heads of
hippopotami appeared and vanished in different directions, but the float
was still; it marked the spot where the grand old bull lay dead beneath.
I shot another hippo, that I thought must be likewise dead; and, taking
the time by my watch, I retired to the shade of a tree with Hassan,
while Hadji Ali and the old hunter returned to camp for assistance in
men and knives, etc.
In a little more than an hour and a half, two objects like the backs of
turtles appeared above the surface. These were the flanks of the two
hippos. A short time afterward the men arrived, and, regardless of
crocodiles, they swam toward the bodies.
