a double-barrelled pistol, which I knew belonged to the
captain. It was unloaded, and had evidently been fired very recently.
Near the pistol I found a small leather bag, in which were ten
ball-cartridges, the bullets from which fitted the pistol. Before
finding this I was only a match for one enemy, but when my pistol was
loaded I knew I was equal to three at least.

I had no desire to pass the night near the dead bodies of the sailors,
so I made my way through the bush towards the beach, where there were
rocks and hollow places, amidst which I could find a secure
resting-place for the night.

I had slept for some time when I was roused by a noise not far from me.
It was a loud grunt or roar--I could not say which was the proper term.
So I listened with the hope of gaining more information. My pistol in
my hand, I crept to the opening of the cleft in the rock, in front of my
sleeping-place. The breakers on the shore before me were sparkling with
a thousand stars, for the sea-water here is very phosphorescent, and,
consequently, made objects between me and these breakers quite distinct.
I thus saw the form of an enormous animal standing near the shore, and
recognised it as that of the _imvubu_, which is the Caffre name of the
hippopotamus. If I had only possessed my bow and poisoned arrows, I
might now have tried them on this monster, and probably might have been
successful in driving an arrow through his thick hide; but to fire at
him with my pistol would, I knew, merely be wasting a bullet and a
charge of powder. Besides, I could eat but a small part of the
_imvubu_; and as the vultures would be sure to circle in the air above
where the carcase of the monster was to be found, any Caffres in the
neighbourhood would notice these, and would come to see what was
attracting them. At present I wanted to remain concealed, and to think
what was to be done in the future. I lay on the ground watching the
_imvubu_, which every now and then gave loud grunts, and opened his
enormous mouth, as though gaping after a long sleep. The monster then
moved along the beach; and, as I found on following his spoor in the
morning, he had his home in the Umlass river, about two miles from where
I had slept.

When the first signs of daylight appeared, I made a meal of oysters; and
then ascended the high land to examine the surrounding country and see
what was going on. I soon noticed vultures circling in the air, near
the head of N