med Leo.

"Come, what do you say, Mr Crawford?" said Natty. "Do not you consider
the _Giraffe_ and _Gazelle_ are two pretty names?"

"They are prettier than the others," I replied, "though they are not
quite so appropriate perhaps; but as all sorts of names are given to
vessels, I do not know why our canoes should not have the prettiest
names we can find."

At last Leo came round to Natty's opinion, and it was agreed that our
two canoes should be called after the names he proposed, the first
launched being called the _Giraffe_. The boys, I saw, were very anxious
to accompany us, but still they went away with a good grace with Jack
and Timbo. We hoped to obtain a good supply of wild-fowl, and perhaps
to shoot some larger game from the banks. Though I had my gun with me,
I assisted Chickango in paddling the canoe, while Stanley sat with his
gun ready to shoot whatever might appear. We had knocked over a good
many wild-fowl, which made us wish that we had a dog with us to bring
them out, as we had a good deal of trouble in rowing after them. At
length Stanley shot a beautiful flamingo, which went away paddling down
the stream at a great rate. We pursued. We were not far from the
banks, when suddenly I felt so tremendous a shock, that I thought we
must have run on a rock, and immediately afterwards a huge head appeared
above the water and dashed towards us. The hippopotamus, for such it
was, and a very large one, seized the boat by the gunwale, and
threatened to overturn her. At the same moment several other monsters
rose with their snouts above the water. I felt that we should have a
poor chance of escaping if the canoe was upset, for I thought that the
monsters would immediately make at us and tear us to pieces, or swallow
us whole, for their mouths seemed large enough to take any one of us
down at a gulp. I seized my gun, as did my cousin, who sprang to his
feet, and levelled his piece at the monster's head. "Fire! massa, fire!
or he upset boat and kill all we," cried Chickango, leaping up to the
bow of the boat, and holding up his hands with a look of horror. I
heard the wood crunching under the creature's teeth. Stanley, who never
lost his presence of mind, balancing himself in the bow of the boat,
took aim, and at the moment I expected to find the boat dragged under,
and probably we ourselves attacked by the other monsters, he fired. The
bullet struck the creature in its most vital part, near the ear