irty hippopotami: a bank near the entrance stretches
two-thirds across the narrowed river, and in the still place behind it
they were swimming about. Several were in the channel, and our canoe-men
were afraid to venture down among them, because, as they affirm, there is
commonly an ill-natured one in a herd, which takes a malignant pleasure
in upsetting canoes. Two or three boys on the rocks opposite amused
themselves by throwing stones at the frightened animals, and hit several
on the head. It would have been no difficult matter to have shot the
whole herd. We fired a few shots to drive them off; the balls often
glance off the skull, and no more harm is done than when a schoolboy gets
a bloody nose; we killed one, which floated away down the rapid current,
followed by a number of men on the bank. A native called to us from the
left bank, and said that a man on his side knew how to pray to the Kariba
gods, and advised us to hire him to pray for our safety, while we were
going down the rapids, or we should certainly all be drowned. No one
ever risked his life in Kariba without first paying the river-doctor, or
priest, for his prayers. Our men asked if there was a cataract in front,
but he declined giving any information; they were not on his side of the
river; if they would come over, then he might be able to tell them. We
crossed, but he went off to the village. We then landed and walked over
the hills to have a look at Karaba before trusting our canoes in it. The
current was strong, and there was broken water in some places, but the
channel was nearly straight, and had no cataract, so we determined to
risk it. Our men visited the village while we were gone, and were
treated to beer and tobacco. The priest who knows how to pray to the god
that rules the rapids followed us with several of his friends, and they
were rather surprised to see us pass down in safety, without the aid of
his intercession. The natives who followed the dead hippopotamus caught
it a couple of miles below, and, having made it fast to a rock, were
sitting waiting for us on the bank beside the dead animal. As there was
a considerable current there, and the rocky banks were unfit for our
beds, we took the hippopotamus in tow, telling the villagers to follow,
and we would give them most of the meat. The crocodiles tugged so hard
at the carcass, that we were soon obliged to cast it adrift, to float
down in the current, to avoid upsetting the