Of all the fish that I have ever eaten the Kafue Tilapia were the very best and it was the only fish that I could eat two or three times a day without getting tired of it. The Africans too thought very much the same and they would eat it fresh or dried with their mealie meal. I used to cook them in a way they taught me. At the base of the pot I would put a few bits of grass stem and then pour in about a cup of water which would quickly boil and the fish would be steam cooked in about 5 minutes or so and ready to eat. But if left to cool, the juices of the fish would turn to jelly and it would be equally delicious as a cold dish. Done in this way they are not too rich and there is no need to fear of a tummy upset as it is a more natural way to relish the sheer goodness of the fish.
Hippo Incident:
One night it happened that whilst on the river, I wanted a fish for breakfast and I had done everything but without success so I thought to myself that the bream often come into little pools that nestled on the side of the little cove and there they lie close to the surface, and if I walked along the bank with my head light on I could shoot one with my .22 rifle , which would be quite enough for breakfast. So I pulled my boat into the cove at the very point that my boy Goodrich had told me of a local fisherman who a couple of months before had done the same thing by the little hut perched on the river bank. As he drew his canoe in, a hippo suddenly emerged and with his enormous jaws, had snapped his canoe in half throwing him into the water. Before he was able to swim to the bank only three yards away , the hippo quick as a flash caught him and bit him in half killing him instantly, with his wife and children on the bank, watching the whole thing and screaming in despair. I remembered this story but did not worry too much, after all I had motor boat that was built of steel and of
really sound construction. I had my boy with me and slowly I pulled towards the deserted hut and told my boy to wait in the boat whilst I walked along the bank to see if I could shoot a fish. It would not be long and I must have walked about 200 yards but did not see any fish in any of the pools close to the numerous hippo runs into the water. Suddenly I heard a crashing sound in the bush undergrowth and with my rather weak headlight I could see an enormous eye moving slowly. It could only be a huge hippo, and I had always been told by those who knew the bush, never to get between a hippo and water, because if he panics he will rush for the water and knock you out flat. So quietly I back stepped for about 25yards still keeping my headlight on him and I thought that I would suddenly make a dash and run to the safety of a nearby tree. I ran flat out, my heart racing and with the sound of the hippo crashing behind me getting ever closer and closer, but as I neared the tree I could see that the problem was to reach the first branch; glancing round I looked to see how much time I had, and to my horror there he was not more than a few feet away with his mouth wide open aiming for my bottom that was sticking out. There was no time to attempt to climb the tree, so I shot round it hoping that I could circle the tree quicker than the hippo with his enormous bulk. I was right but not before the hippo went around the tree about three times but then in my fear I went too far and was almost running into him. He stopped suddenly and decided to about turn and then he roared at me! The commotion was terrific and things were coming to a climax and something had to be done fast, and so gripping my .22 rifle like a pistol, the next time he came at me I aimed between his eyes and just pressed the trigger. He staggered back about 3 yards quivering all over straightened up and then made a wild dash for the river. At last shaking all over in a nervous state I grabbed the lower branch of the tree and jumped up with my heart thumping and waited. Then from the river bank were the comforting shouts of