We Found A Fairly
Shallow Ford, However, And Managed To Get Safely
Over.
Here, on what was evidently an island
during flood time, we found innumerable traces of
both hippo and rhino
- In fact the difficulty was
to decide which track was the best and freshest.
At length I picked out a tree close to the river
and commanding a stretch of sand which was all
flattened down and looked as if at least one hippo
rolled there regularly every night.
As there was still about an hour before sundown,
we did not take up our station at once, but
proceeded along the bank to see if any other game
was about. We had not gone very far when
Mahina, who was a little way ahead, signalled to
me, and on joining him I saw a splendid-looking
water-buck standing in a shallow pool of the
river. It was the first time I had seen one of
these fine antelope, and I was delighted with
the sight. I might have got twenty yards or
so nearer, but I thought I had better not risk
moving, so I aimed at the shoulder and fired.
The buck gave one leap into the air, and then
turned and galloped quickly behind an island
which completely hid him from view. We
waited for him to clear the rushes at the other
end of this island, but as he did not appear I
got impatient and plunged into the river,
regardless of crocodiles or anything else. On rounding
the island, however, he was nowhere to be seen,
and had evidently turned off while in the shelter
of the reeds and so gained the opposite bank. I
was keenly disappointed at my failure, for it was
impossible to follow him up: to do so we should
have had to make a long detour to get across
the river, and by that time darkness would
have set in. This incident shows the great
drawback to the .303 - namely, that it has very
little knock-down effect unless it strikes a vital
part; and even then, in a bush country, an
animal may manage to go far enough to be
lost. On the other hand, an animal wounded
with a hard bullet is likely to make a speedy
recovery, which is a great blessing.
Mahina was even more upset at the escape of
the buck than I was, and as we trudged back
through the sand to our tree, he was full of gloomy
forebodings of an unlucky night. By the light
of a splendid full moon we settled ourselves on
a great outspreading branch, and commenced
our vigil. Soon the jungle around us began
to be alive with its peculiar sounds - a night
bird would call, a crocodile shut his jaws with
a snap, or a rhino or hippo crash through the
bushes on its way to the water: now and again
we could even hear the distant roar of the lion.
Still there was nothing to be seen.
After waiting for some considerable time, a
great hippo at last made his appearance and
came splashing along in our direction, but
unfortunately took up his position behind a tree which,
in the most tantalising way, completely hid him
from view. 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. As there seemed no likelihood of
getting a shot at him from our tree, I made up
my mind to stalk him on foot, so we both descended
from our perch and made our way slowly through
the trees in the semi-darkness. There were
numbers of animals about, and I am sure that
neither of us felt very comfortable as we crept
along in the direction of the splashing hippo; for
my own part I fancied every moment that I saw
in front of me the form of a rhino or a lion ready
to charge down upon us out of the shadow of
the bush.
In this manner, with nerves strung to the
highest pitch, we reached the edge of the river
in safety, only to find that we were again baulked
by a small rush-covered island, on the other side
of which our quarry could be heard.
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