702 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, OR ZEEKOE. 
einployed as weapons of offence, except when the animal is wounded or otherwise irritated. 
The incisor teeth of the lower jaw he almost horizontally, with their points directed for- 
wards, and are said to be employed as crow-bars in tearing up the various aquatic plants 
on which the animal feeds. The canines are very large and curved, and are worm obliquely, 
in a manner very similar to the rodent ty pe of teeth. Their shape is a bold curve, forming 
nearly the half of a circle, and their surtace is deeply channeled and ridged on the outer 
line of the curve, and smoother on the face. The entire tooth, when it has been removed 
from the animal and thoroughly dried, is covered with a series of fine, superficial cracks, 
which intersect each other diagonally with much regularity, being a veritable example of 
nature's “ cross-hatchinge.” 
The tooth is very solid in its substance and close in its erain, and as it retains its colour 
under very trying circumstances, 1s adinirably adapted for the manufacture of artificial 
teeth. Throughout the greater pat of its leneth it is guite solid, but bears a conical 
hollow about three or four inches deep at the extremity which enters the socket. The 
extreme whiteness of the ivory obtained from the Hippopotamus’ teeth renders it peculiarly 
valuable for the delicate seales of various philosophical instruments, and its natural curve 
adapts it admirably for the verniers of ship sextants. The weight of a large tooth is from 
five to eight pounds, and the value of the ivory is from twenty to twenty-five shillings per 
pound, 
With these apparently combined teeth the Hippopotamus can cut the grass as neatly 
as if it were mown with a scythe, and is able to sever, as if with shears, a tolerably stout 
and thick stem. 
Possessed of an enormous appetite, having a stomach that is capable of containing 
five or six bushels of nutriment, and furnished with such powerful instruments, the 
Hippopotamus is a terrible nuisance to the owners of cultivated lands that happen to be 
near the river in which the animal has taken up his abode. During the day it is 
comfortably asleep in its chosen hiding-place, but as soon as the shades of night deepen, 
the Hippopotamus issues from its den, and treading its way into the cultivated lands, 
makes sad devastation among the growing crops. Were the mischief to be confined to 
the amount which is eaten by the voracious brute, it would still be bad enough, but the 
worst of the matter is, that the Hippopotamus damages more than it eats by the clumsy 
manner of its progress. The bedy is so large and heavy, and the legs are so short, that 
the animal is forced to make a double track as he walks, and in the grass-grown plain can 
be readily traced by the peculiar character of the track. It may the refore be easily Imagined 
that when a number of these hungry, awkward, waddling, splay-footed beasts come 
blundering among the standing crops, trampling and devouring indiscriminately, they will 
do no slight damage before they think fit to retire. 
The agerieved cultivators endeavour to protect their grounds and at the same time to 
make the depredators pay for the damage which they have done, by digging a number of 
pitfalls across the Hippopotamus paths, and furnishing each pit with a sharp stake in the 
centre. 
When an animal falls into such a trap, the rejoicings are great, for not only is the ivory 
of great commercial value, but the flesh is very good eating, and the hide is useful for the 
manufacture of whips and other instruments. The fat of the Hippopotamus, called by 
the eolonists “Zee-Koe speck,” or Sea-cow bacon, is held in very high estimation, as is the 
tongue and the jelly which is extracted from the feet. The hide is so thick that it must 
be dragged from the creature’s body in slips, like so many planks, and is aninch and a half 
in thickness on the back, and three quarters of an inch on the other portions of the body. 
Yet, in spite of its enormous thickness and its tough quality, it is quite phable when seen 
on the living beast, and accommodates itself easily to all his movements. 
The Hippopotamus is, as the import of its name, River Horse, implies, most aquatic 
in its habits. It generally prefers fresh water, but it is not at all averse to the sea, and will 
sometimes prefer salt water to fresh. It is an admirable swimmer and diver, and is able 
to remain below the surface for a very considerable leneth of time. In common with the 
elephant, it possesses the power of sinkin © at will, whiel 1 is the more extraordinary when 
c 
