8
breechloader, and started in the little dingy belonging to the
diahbeeah. Having paddled quietly along the edge of the grass for a
couple of hundred yards, I arrived near the spot from which the
hippopotamus had emerged.
"It is the general habit of the hippopotami in these marsh districts to
lie in the high grass swamps during the day, and to swim or amuse
themselves in the open water at sunset.
"I had not waited long before I heard a snort, and I perceived the
hippopotamus had risen to the surface about fifty yards from me. This
distance was a little too great for the accurate firing necessary to
reach the brain, especially when the shot must be taken from a boat, in
which there is always some movement. I therefore allowed the animal to
disappear, after which I immediately ordered the boat forward, to remain
exactly over the spot where he had sunk. A few minutes elapsed, when the
great ugly head of the hippopotamus appeared about thirty paces from the
boat, and having blown the water from his nostrils, and snorted loudly,
he turned round and seemed astonished to find the solitary little boat
so near him. Telling the two boatmen to sit perfectly quiet, so as to
allow a good sight, I aimed just below the eye, and fired a heavy shell,
which contained a bursting charge of three drachms of fine-grained
powder. The head disappeared. A little smoke hung over the water, and I
could not observe other effects. The lake was deep, and after vain
sounding for the body with a boathook, I returned to the diahbeeah just
as it became dark.
"March 18. - A heavy shower of rain fell, which lasted for an hour and a
half. When the rain ceased, the day continued cloudy with variable wind.
The body of the hippopotamus was discovered at daybreak floating near
us, therefore all hands turned out to cut him up, delighted at the idea
of fresh meat. There was about an acre of high and dry ground that
bordered the marsh in one spot; to this the carcase of the hippopotamus
was towed. I was anxious to observe the effects of the explosive shell,
as it was an invention of my own that had been manufactured by Mr.
Reilly, [*] the gunmaker, of London. This shell was composed of
iron, covered with lead. The interior was a cast-iron bottle (similar in
shape to a stoneware Seltzer water bottle); the neck formed a nipple to
receive a percussion-cap. The entire bottle was concealed by a leaden
coating, which was cast in a mould to fit a No. 8, or two-ounce rifle.
The iron bottle contained three drachms of the strongest gunpowder, and
a simple cap pressed down upon the nipple prepared the shell for
service.
[*Footnote: Mr. Reilly, of 502 New Oxford Street, has been most
successful in heavy rifles, with which he has supplied me in
both my African expeditions.]
"On an examination of the head of the hippopotamus, I found that the
shell had struck exactly beneath the eye, where the bone plate is thin.
It had traversed the skull, and had apparently exploded in the brain, as
it had entirely carried away the massive bone that formed the back of
the skull. The velocity of the projectile had carried the fragments of
the shell onwards after the explosion, and had formed a sort of tunnel
which was blackened with burnt powder for a considerable distance along
the flesh of the neck. I was quite satisfied with my explosive shell.
"The hippopotamus having been divided among the men, I sent Raouf Bey
with a large force to assist the steamers, which still remain fixed in
the same spot.
"At 2 p.m. it poured with rain until 9 p.m. Everything is soaking; and I
have great anxiety about our large stores of corn.
"March 19. - Fine day, but all cargo, stores, &c., are wet. The miserable
vessels of the Soudan are without decks, thus one heavy shower creates
much damage. The men are busy drying their clothes, &c. Two soldiers
died. Steamers far astern in the sudd, regularly fixed.
"March 20. - A boy died. I sent fresh men to the assistance of the
steamers, which have to be literally dug out.
"March 21. - Yesterday as the men were digging out the steamers, which
had become blocked by the floating rafts, they felt something struggling
beneath their feet. They immediately scrambled away in time to avoid the
large head of a crocodile that broke its way through the tangled mass in
which it had been jammed and held prisoner by the rafts. The black
soldiers, armed with swords and bill-hooks, immediately attacked the
crocodile, who, although freed from imprisonment, had not exactly fallen
into the hands of the Royal Humane Society. He was quickly despatched,
and that evening his flesh gladdened the cooking pots of the Soudani
regiment.
"I was amused with the account of this adventure given by various
officers who were eye-witnesses. One stated in reply to my question as
to the length of the animal, `Well, sir, I should not like to
exaggerate, but I should say it was forty-five feet long from snout to
tail!' Another witness declared it to be at least twenty feet; but by
rigid cross-examination I came to the conclusion that it did not exceed
ten.
"The steamers and tender, having been released, arrived this morning. At
1 p.m. we started with a light air from the northeast, and travelled
till 3.30 p.m. along the lake, which narrowed to the dimensions of a
moderate river. We at length arrived at a sudd which the advance boats
had cleared for about sixty yards. Having emerged, we were introduced to
a deep but extremely narrow channel flowing through the usual enormous
grass.
