THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 13 



vast weight of solid flesh to be sustained and the enor- 

 mous strength of the muscles. The neck, though short, 

 is longer in proportion than that of the elephant, and 

 from the shortness of the limbs gives the animal the 

 power of grazing the herbage. 



The following account of the mode of attacking the 

 hippopotamus in Dongola is from ' Travels in Nubia,' 

 by Dr. Edward Riippell, a careful observer and a trust- 

 worthy writer. Dongola is a narrow slip of country 

 lying on both sides of the Nile, and extending southward 

 from 19° 43' of north latitude for about 170 miles, mea- 

 sured along the course of the stream : — • 



" The harpoon with which the natives attack the hip- 

 popotamus terminates in a flat oval-shaped piece of iron, 

 three-fourths of the outer rim of which are sharpened 

 to a very fine edge. To the upper part of this iron one 

 end of a long stout cord is fastened, and the other is tied 

 to a thick piece of light wood. The hunters attack the 

 animal either by day or by night, but they prefer day- 

 light, as it enables them better to escape from the assaults 

 of their furious enemy. One part of the rope with the 

 shaft of the harpoon the hunter takes in his right hand ; 

 in the left he holds the rest of the rope and the piece of 

 wood. Thus armed, he cautiously approaches the animal 

 when he is asleep during the day on some small island in 

 the river, or he looks for him at night, when the hippo- 

 potamus is likely to come out of the water to graze in 

 the corn-fields. When the huntsman is about seven 

 paces from the beast, he throws the spear with all his 

 might, and if he is a good marksman the iron pierces 

 through the thick hide, burying itself in the flesh deeper 

 than the barbed point. The animal generally plunges 

 into the water ; and though the shaft of the harpoon 

 may be broken, the piece of wood that is attached to the 

 iron floats on the surface, and shows what direction he 

 takes. There is great danger if the hippopotamus spies 

 the huntsman before he can throw his spear. He then 

 springs forward with the utmost fury, and crushes him 

 at once in his wide open mouth ; an instance of which 

 took place while we were in the country. 



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