154 WHALING AND FISHlNQ. 



the water after night, on an incursion, the leader 

 generally falls a victim to the ingenuity of the 

 natives. But they, not having any weapons 

 wherewith U despatch their huge prize, are obliged 

 ;o let the poor beast starve to death in his narrow 

 pit, securing thus naught but their revenge and 

 the tusks, which last are valuable as ivory. 



Our curiosity had been aroused to see an entire 

 herd comii g up out of the water to go inland, 

 and at the instance of the captain, a party of us, 

 including him, armed ourselves and took up a 

 position the next evening about sunset, just on 

 one side of what appeared to be their principal 

 line of march, among a thicket of large trees. 

 We remained at our stations, in the dark, until 

 about nine o'clock, listening with astonishment 

 to the gambols of the unwieldly monsters in the 

 water close to us. It had been proposed, (before 

 coming on shore), to fire at the herd as they came 

 past our hiding place, and our muskets were 

 loaded with ball for that purpose. But the first 

 signs of their coming put all firing out of our 

 heads, and each one shrank back behind his tree, 

 only too glad to escape their notice. The noiso 

 they made in coming on, was as though a tornado 

 was sweeping through the woods. The roaring 

 was terrific ; the very earth seeming to tremble 

 at the sound. Three of us, who had concealed 

 ourselves behind an enormous tree, where we 

 bad been merrily boasting of how we woald 

 "pop down the Hippopotami," now shrunk close 



