MEDICINAL VIRTUES ^THE HARPOON DESCRIBED. 495 



fetch as much as one guinea per pound. It is chiefly used 

 for artificial teeth, for which purpose it is particuhirly well 

 adapted, since it does not readily turn yellow, as is frequent- 

 ly the case with elephant ivory ; as also for instruments, knife- 

 handles, and a variety of other purposes. 



Medicinal virtues are attributed to certain parts of the 

 body of the hippopotamus. According to Thunberg, the pro- 

 cessus inamillaris of this animal is an effectual remedy for the 

 stone and gravel, and "the fat," says Kolben, "is reckoned 

 an excellent thing against a surfeit and a redundancy of hu- 

 mors in the body." 



CHAPTER XLI. 



The Bayeye harpoon the Hippopotamus, — ^The Harpoon described. — 

 How the Chase of the Hippopotamus is conducted by the Bayeye. 

 — How it was conducted by the ancient Egyptians. — The Spear 

 used by them. — Ferocity of the Hippopotamus. — Killed by Guns. — 

 Frightful Accident.— The Downfall. 



On the Teoge, and other rivers to the northward of Ngami, 

 the natives are accustomed to harpoon the hippopotamus in 

 a somewhat similar manner as that practiced with the whale. 

 I will endeavor to describe the process, which, singularly 

 enough, has never, to my knowledge, been done by any trav- 

 eler. 



The harpoon (of iron). A, is, as seen in the following dia- 

 gram, short and strong, and provided with a single barb, B. 

 The shaft, or handle, C C, consists of a stout pole, from ten 

 to twelve feet in length, by three or four inches in thickness. 

 At the inner end of the shaft, C C, is a socket for the recep- 

 tion of the harpoon. A, which is farther secured to the shaft 

 (at about one third from the socket) by a number of small 

 cords, E E.* These cords, when the animal is struck, and 



* The object of having the connecting line to consist of a number 

 of small cords instead of a single stout one is to reduce the chance 

 of its being severed by the teeth of the hippopotamus. 



