The Chief Boatman, Who Occupies The Stem,
Has In Consequence A Light Javelin Always At Hand To Spear Them
If They Are Not Quickly Out Of Sight.
These, and large alligators
gliding in from the banks with a heavy plunge as we come round
a sudden bend of the stream, were the occurrences of every hour
as we sped up the river.
The rapids in the part of the river between Katima-molelo and Nameta
are relieved by several reaches of still, deep water, fifteen or twenty
miles long. In these very large herds of hippopotami are seen,
and the deep furrows they make, in ascending the banks to graze
during the nights, are every where apparent. They are guided
back to the water by the scent, but a long continued pouring rain
makes it impossible for them to perceive, by that means,
in which direction the river lies, and they are found bewildered on the land.
The hunters take advantage of their helplessness on these occasions
to kill them.
It is impossible to judge of the numbers in a herd, for they are almost always
hidden beneath the waters; but as they require to come up every few minutes
to breathe, when there is a constant succession of heads thrown up,
then the herd is supposed to be large. They love a still reach of the stream,
as in the more rapid parts of the channel they are floated down so quickly
that much exertion is necessary to regain the distance lost
by frequently swimming up again:
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