wever, some
strong canes growing near the rivers, I gathered a number of these and
made a chair for the chief, with which he was much pleased, although he
would sit on it only on rare occasions.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Several moons had passed since I was brought to the Zulu country, and my
life had been monotonous. I had been sent with messages twice to the
Tugela river to a chief there, who was suspected of not being too
obedient to the Great Chief. He was a fine young chief called Cloko,
and was a great sportsman. On the last occasion that I visited him he
was preparing for a hunt against the hippopotami, which were in a lake
near his kraal. The water in this lake could be let out by digging away
a sand bank, which had been accomplished when I reached the kraal. The
Zulus had provided themselves with heavy, barbed spears, to which some
thick wood was attached. A rope made of grass was fastened to the iron,
so that if two spears stuck in the hippopotamus he could be held by
several men pulling in opposite directions.

The Zulus call this animal _imvubu_, and several were known to be in the
lake. Some logs were fastened together to make a raft, and two Zulus
took their stand on this with their spears ready for use. As the water
in the lake drained away the _imvubu_ were seen among some reeds near
the shore. They were carefully approached by the men with the spears,
and when quite close the spears were hurled at the largest animal
visible. The hippopotamus rushed at the raft open-mouthed, but another
spear was hurled at him which made him turn and try to escape; but fifty
Zulus now held on to the rope, and his progress was stopped. The
struggle was now very exciting. Several Zulus closed with the animal
and drove their assagies into him, even through his thick hide, which in
many places was nearly two inches thick. The fight was sometimes on the
shore, sometimes in the water; for the animal was so powerful that even
fifty men could scarcely stop him when he rushed away. At last,
bleeding from a hundred wounds, the monster was dragged on shore, and
was soon skinned and cut up. The hippopotamus is the fattest animal in
Africa, three fingers thick of fat covering his flesh. He is very good
eating, tasting something between pork and beef. I carried away a large
piece with me as a present to the Great Chief, who was fond of this
food.

I saw several hunting scenes whilst I stopped at this kraal, which I
w