ANCIENT METHOD OP CHASING THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 499 



wreaking his vengeance on the craft, he will attack one or 

 other of the crew, and, with a single grasp of his horrid jaws, 

 either terribly mutilates the poor fellow, or, it may be, cuts 

 his body fairly in two ! 



The chase often lasts a considerable time. So long as the 

 line and the harpoon hold, the animal can not escape, be- 

 cause the " buoy" always marks his whereabout. At length, 

 from loss of blood or exhaustion. Behemoth succumbs to his 

 pursuers. 



It is a remarkable fact that almost the same method of 

 securing the hippopotamus as that just described was adopt- 

 ed by the ancient Eg}^ptians.* 



" The hippopotamus," says Diodorus, " is chased by many 

 persons, each armed with iron javelins. As soon as it makes 

 its appearance at the surface of the w^ater, they surround it 

 with boats, and, closing in on all sides, they wound it with- 

 blades furnished with iron barbs, and having hempen ropes 

 fastened to them, in order that, when wounded, it may be let 

 out until its strength fails it from loss of blood." 



The many drawings relating to the chase, &c., of the hip- 

 popotamus to be found on the sculptures and monuments of 

 Thebes would seem to prove that the ancient Egyptians 

 greatly delighted in this kind of sport. One of these rep- 

 resentations is shown on the following page, and has been 

 borrowed from that valuable work, " The Manners and Cus- 

 toms of the Ancient Egyptians," by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, 

 who thus explains the very interesting illustration. 



*'The chasseur is here in the act of throwing the spear at 

 the hippopotamus, which he has already wounded with three 

 other blades, indicated by the ropes he holds in his left hand ; 

 and having pulled the animal toward the surface of the wa- 



* In some parts of ancient Egypt the hippopotamus was worshiped. 

 It is also said to have been a representation of Typho (in connection 

 with the crocodile) and Mars. According to Plutarch, it " was reck- 

 oned among the animals emblematic of the Evil Being." 



