II 



internal organs, to which themeatus auditorius reached 

 This is observable in all the whale-kind, and in ali 

 fishes that have lungs. And whereas some have sup. 

 posed that water cannot transmit sound, the contrary 

 of this is now well known. Many experiments have 

 shewn, that even a man under water may hear what 

 is spoken in the open air. 



The Hippopotamos, or River-Horse, is above se* 

 venteen feet long from the snout to the insertion of the 

 tail ; above seven feet in circumference round the body, 

 and above seven feet high ; the bead is near four feet 

 longj and above nine feet in circumference. The jaws 

 open about two feet wide, and the cutting teeth 3 of 

 which it hath four in each jaw, are above a foot long* 



Its feet resemble those of the elephant^ and are dU 

 vided into four parts : the tail is short, flat, and point, 

 ed ; the hide is impenetrable to the blow of a sabre; 

 the body is covered over with a few scattered hairs of a 

 whitish colour. The figure of the animal is between 

 that of an ox^and a hog, and its cry between the bel* 

 lowing of the one and the grunting of the other. 



It chiefly resides at the bottom of the great rivers and 

 lake.s of Africa, the Nile, the Niger, and the Zara; 

 there it leads an indolent life, seldom disposed for 

 action, except when excited by the calls of hunger. 

 Upon such occasions, three or four of them are oftei* 

 seen at the bottom of a river forming a kind of line,, 

 and seizing upon such fish as are forced down by tha 

 violence of the stream, in that element they pursue 

 their prey with great swiftness and perseverance ; they 

 swim with much force, and remain at the bottom for 

 thirty or forty minutes without rising to take breath. 

 They traverse the bottom of the stream, as if walking 

 upon land : but it often happens, that his fishy food is 

 not supplied in sufficient abundance, it is then forced 

 to come upon land, where it is an auk ward and un- 

 wieldly stranger ; it moves bur si <wly, yet it commits 

 dreadful havoek among the plantations of the helpless 

 who see their poss s ions destroyed without 



