Here He Stood Tooting And Snorting
And Splashing About To His Heart's Content.
For
what seemed hours I watched for this ungainly
creature to emerge from his covert, but as he
seemed determined not to show himself I lost
patience and made up my mind to go down after
him.
I therefore handed my rifle to Mahina to
lower to me on reaching the ground, and began
to descend carefully, holding on by the creepers
which encircled the tree. To my intense vexation
and disappointment, just as I was in this helpless
condition, half-way to the ground, the great
hippo suddenly came out from his shelter and
calmly lumbered along right underneath me. I
bitterly lamented my ill-luck and want of patience,
for I could almost have touched his broad back
as he passed. It was under these exasperating
conditions that I saw a hippo for the first time,
and without doubt he is the ugliest and most
forbidding looking brute I have ever beheld.
The moment the great beast had passed our tree,
he scented us, snorted loudly, and dived into
the bushes close by, smashing through them like a
traction engine. In screwing myself round to
watch him go, I broke the creepers by which I
was holding on and landed on my back in the
sand at the foot of the tree - none the worse for
my short drop, but considerably startled at the
thought that the hippo might come back at any
moment. I climbed up to my perch again without
loss of time, but he was evidently as much
frightened as I was, and returned no more.
Shortly after this we saw two rhino come down
to the river to drink; they were too far off for
a shot, however, so I did not disturb them, and
they gradually waddled up-stream out of sight.
Then we heard the awe-inspiring roar of a hungry
lion close by, and presently another hippo gave
forth his tooting challenge a little way down
the river.
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