496 HOW THE CHASE IS CONDUCTED. 



a Strain consequently comes upon them, relax, so as to allow 

 the harpoon to slip out of the socket, though, of course, it 

 still remains attached to the shaft. To the other extremity 

 of the handle is fixed the harpoon-line, F, which is strong, and 

 of considerable length, and to the end of this a " float" or 

 " buoy," G. 



B n E ^ F. 



HIPPOPOTAMtrS HARPOON, 



From the weight of the "shaft the harpoon is seldom or 

 never hurled at the hippopotamus, but is held by the har- 

 pooner, who drives it either vertically or obliquely into the 

 body of the animal. 



Sometimes the chase is conducted with canoes alone ; at 

 others in connection with a "reed-raft," similarly construct- 

 ed to that recently described. We will suppose the latter 

 plan is adopted. At the appointed time the men assemble 

 at the rendezvous, and after every thing has been duly ar- 

 ranged, and the canoes needed for the prosecution of the 

 hunt drawn up on the raft, the latter is pushed from the 

 shore, and afterward abandoned entirely to the stream, which 

 propels the unwieldy mass gently and noiselessly forward. 



Hippopotami are not found in all parts of the river, but 

 only in certain localities. On approaching their favorite 

 haunts, the natives keep a very sharp look-out for the ani- 

 mals, whose presence is often known by their snorts and 

 grunts, while splashing and blowing in the water, or (should 

 there be no interruption to the view) by the ripple on the 

 surface, long before they are actually seen. 



As soon as the position of the hippopotami is ascertained, 

 one or more of the most skillful and intrepid of the hunters 

 stand prepared with the harpoons, while the rest make ready 



