river, and all others fly from its approach or become 

 an easy prey. 



As the hippopotamos lives upon fish and vegetables, 

 so it is probable the flesh of terrestrial animals may be 

 equally grateful : the natives of Africa assert, that it 

 has often been found to devour children and other 

 creatures that it was able to surprise upon land yet 

 as it moves bu f slowly, almost every creature, endued 

 with a common share of swiftness, is able to escape it ; 

 and ibis animal, therefore, seldom ventures from the 

 river side, but when pressed by the necessities of hunger^ 

 or of bringing forth its young. 



The female always comes upon land to bring forth, 

 and it is supposed that she seldom produces above one 

 at a time; upon this occasion, these animals are par. 

 ticularly timorous, and dread the approach of a ter- 

 restrial enemy ; the instant the parent hears the slight. 

 est noise, it dashes into the stream, and the young 

 one is seen to follow it with equal alacrity. 



The young ones are said to be excellent eating; but 

 the negroes, to whom nothing that has life comes amiss, 

 find an equal delicacy in the old. Dr. Pocock has 

 seen their tk-sh sold in the shambles, like beef, and it 

 is said that their breast, in particular, is as delicate 

 eating as veal. As for the rest, these animals are found 

 in great number, and as they produce very fast, their 

 flesh might supply the countries where they are found, 

 could those barbarous regions produce more expert 

 huntsmen. But this creature, which once was in 

 such plenty at the mouth of the Nile, is now wholly 

 unknown in Lower Egypt, and is no wnere to be 

 found in that river, except abo>e the cataracts. 



One can hardly tell whether to rank h : m among land 

 or water animals. He sleeps on land, but passes al- 

 most all the rest of his time under water. Ho has to 

 feed under water, yet is the most 1111 wieldly of all 

 creatures, and cannot swim at all. He comes out of 

 the water in an evening to sleep, and when he goes in 

 again ; he walks very deliberately in overhead^ and 



