HIPPOPOTAMUS HISPANIA. 



749 



mane like a horse, a flat nose and a tail like a hog. 

 That the hitter author should have been so erronaous 

 is extraordinary, as several of these animals had been 

 exhibited at Rome. Scaurus, during his edileship, 

 had five crocodiles and a hippopotamus in a temporary 

 lake, and Augustus produced one on the occasion of 

 his triumph over Cleopatra, and we find the figure 

 of it on medals and mosaic pavements. But the 

 ancients kne\v no other mode of description, than 

 that of comparing the parts of an unknown animal 

 with those of animals well known, hence giving 

 rise to innumerable errors. The lehemoth of Job is 

 considered by most commentators to be the hippopo- 

 tamus, as the description of his size, manners, food, 

 and haunts is very similar to those of the latter animal. 

 Among the ancient Egyptians, it was revered as a 

 divinity, as it is among the Negroes of Congo, Elmi- 

 na, &c. 



The great strength of the hippopotamus would 

 render it one of the most formidable of quadrupeds, 

 were its disposition ferocious ; but it is mild and gen- 

 tle except under great provocation or when wounded. 

 When excited, however, his power is dreadful : he has 

 been known to destroy boats with his teeth, or upset 

 them, by raising them on his back. There is no doubt 

 that it can be tamed. Belou states he saw one kept 

 in a stable, which showed no inclination to escape, 

 or to commit any mischief, even when released from 

 confinement ; and Sparmann thinks they might be 

 reared without much difficulty. The voice of the 

 young is a squeak, like that of a hog ; that of the 

 adult is said by some writers to resemble the neigh- 

 ing of a horse, whilst others represent it as a loud, 

 sonorous noise, between the bellowing of an ox and 

 the roaring of an elephant. From the unwieldiness 

 of his body, and the shortness of his legs, the hippo- 

 potamus cannot move very swiftly upon land ; when 

 pursued, he takes to the water, and, plunging in 

 head foremost, sinks to the bottom, where it is said 

 he can move along with the same slow and stately 

 pace as in the open air. He cannot, however, conti- 

 nue for any great length of time thus immersed, but 

 is obliged to rise to the surface for breath. In man- 

 ners, the hippopotamus approaches somewhat to the 

 hog. His sleeping place is usually muddy islands, 

 overgrown with reeds ; in these places, also, the 

 female brings forth. She is supposed to go with 

 young about nine months, and to produce but one at 

 a birth. She is often seen in the rivers with her calf 

 on her back. Her manner of suckling somewhat 

 resembles that of a cow. A herd of females has but 

 one male. The males often contest each other's 

 right over the females ; the contest that ensues, as 

 may readily be supposed, is terrible. Their bite is 

 very severe, and masses of flesh, torn out by the 

 grasp of their monstrous jaws, mark the spot of their 

 encounters. Sometimes, the weakest will attempt to 

 fly, leaving his conqueror master of the field ; but 

 this seldom occurs, and it not unfrequently happens 

 that one, or even both, perish on the spot. 



Although the hippopotamus is an inhabitant of the 

 \v aters, his food is entirely of a vegetable character, 

 in search of which he leaves his liquid residence, and 

 ranges along the banks, committing wide devasta- 

 tions through all the adjoining country. On the banks 

 of the Nile, he often defeats the hopes of the hus- 

 bandman, whole fields of grain and sugar-cane being 

 destroyed, not only to satisfy his appetite, but also 

 trampled down by his great weight. It has been 

 pretended, that the hippopotamus devours great quan- 

 tities of fish ; but it appears from the best evidence, 

 both of travellers and from his anatomical structure, 

 that he is nourished exclusively on vegetable food. 

 The stomach, like that of the ruminating animals, is 

 divided into several pouches. 



The flesh of the hippopotamus is eaten in Africa. 

 The Hottentots, and many other nations, are extreme- 

 ly fond of it. *The fat resembles lard. The choice 

 pieces are said to be the gelatinous part of the feet 

 and the tongue. The hide, which, as has already 

 been stated, is very thick, is converted by the Negroes 

 into shields, and is also used by the inhabitants of the 

 cape for whips. It is asserted by Labat, that the 

 blood is used by Indian painters in the preparation 

 of their colours. 



The modes of capturing these animals are various. 

 The Egyptians throw a large quantity of dried peas 

 on some place where they expect the hippopotamus 

 to pass ; these the hungry animal eagerly devours ; 

 this mass of dry food disposes him to drink, and the 

 water, swelling the pease in his stomach, destroys 

 him (Hasselguist) . The Hottentots sometimes prac- 

 tise the same stratagem. But they more commonly 

 either take them in pitfalls prepared for this purpose 

 on the banks of rivers, or shoot them with tin balls 

 (Sparmann). In some places, the natives place 

 boards full of sharp spikes in the ground, which these 

 heavy beasts strike with their feet, become disabled, 

 and fall an easy prey to the hunter. The most dan- 

 gerous method is harpooning them ; this, however, is 

 a very common mode in Africa, and it is said that 

 it is by no means rare to see ten or a dozen canoes 

 employed in this kind of chase. Among the fables of 

 the ancients respecting them, is, that they vomited 

 fire ; and Pliny relates, that this animal, when he 

 feels his habit overcharged, repairs to some place 

 covered with sharp reeds, and obtains a discharge of 

 blood by lying down upon them in such a posture^ 

 that they pierce the tender parts of his skin. 



As has already been mentioned, the remains of 

 four extinct species have been discovered in Europe, 

 and described by Cuvier. These are the H. antiquus, 

 which appears to have been about the size of the 

 existing species. The bones of this animal are 

 found in considerable numbers in the Val d'Arno 

 Superiore in Tuscany, and have also been met with 

 near Montpellier and Paris in France. H. minor, 

 apparently about the size of a wild boar ; it is not 

 known where the bones were found. H. medius; 

 this species which is established on two fossil teeth, 

 is supposed to have been intermediate between the 

 two latter. //. minimus ; this appears to have been 

 very small, not exceeding the common hog in size. 

 Cuvier, in arranging these two latter species with the 

 hippopotamus, remarks, that although it is probable 

 that such is their true situation, yet that it is impos- 

 sible to be absolutely certain of the fact, as no incisor 

 or molar teeth have yet been discovered. No re- 

 mains of this genus have yet been discovered in 

 America. 



HIRSCHBERG, after Breslau, the chief commer- 

 cial place in Silesia, particularly in respect to the 

 linen trade, is charmingly situated in the principality 

 of Jauer, government of Liegnitz, at the confluence 

 of the Bober and Zacke, not tar from the Riesenge- 

 birge, has above 6,200 inhabitants, partly Catholics, 

 partly Protestants, with a good gymnasium. It is 

 remarkable for its bleacheries. Hirschberg has also 

 cloth manufactures, a sugar refinery, &c. About five 

 miles distant is Warmbrunn, a mineral bath, much 

 resorted to from the north-eastern part of Germany. 

 The circle of Hirschberg contains over 47,000 in- 

 habitants, who mostly live by the manufacture of 

 linen. 



HISPANIA was the name given by the Romans 

 to the whole peninsula of the Pyrenees, now Spain 

 and Portugal. The Greeks denominated it Iberia, 

 and it received the name of Hesperia (the West), from 

 the Roman poets. Spain was inhabited in the earliest 

 times. The first inhabitants were the Cynetas or 



