g some
animals--no doubt, indeed, the hippopotamus; for the weapons they
carried were not used in the chase of any other animal But what rendered
it absolutely certain that they could not belong to their late pursuers,
was the presence, in the stern of the largest canoe, of a woman--
evidently a personage of rank and importance. The boys looked at her,
as the boats slowly approached the islet, with great surprise and
curiosity. Her costume showed that she belonged to the same nation as
the others, and her whole bearing and demeanour was that of a person
familiarised by long habit with the scene and employment in which she
was engaged But if it had not been for these circumstances, the boys
would certainly have supposed that she was not a native of South Africa
at all. Her complexion, though somewhat darker than that of an
Englishwoman, was many shades lighter than that of her companions; her
hair and eyes were totally unlike theirs. Her movements, easy and
graceful as those of savages generally are, nevertheless exhibited an
indefinable refinement, which was most perplexing to the spectators.

Their attention, however, was soon directed to other matters. All
unconscious of the vicinity of strangers, the occupants of the boats and
rafts glided noiselessly by the island, until they had reached the
hippopotamuses, which were still lazily floating in the yellow waters;
for the river, it may be observed in passing, well deserved its name.
The huge animals scarcely seemed to notice the presence of the voyagers,
whom they allowed to come close to them, without manifesting any
symptoms of alarm.

By and by the canoe, in which the female already described was seated,
had reached the spot where the largest of the bulky herd--fully twelve
feet in length, and the same in girth--was reclining! She rose from her
seat, lifting her figure to its full height, and then dexterously darted
the barbed lance she carried into the body of the monster. The instant
she had done so, she resumed her seat, and the rowers nimbly plying
their oars, shot off from the vortex caused by the writhings of the
wounded beast, and made for the shore. The girl bounded lightly on to
the bank as the canoe approached it, holding in her hand the line, which
was attached to the handle of the harpoon. She was followed instantly
by the rest of the crew, who, seizing the cord, held it fast with their
united strength to prevent the escape of the hippopotamus.