IIlPPOrOTAMUS.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



368. — The Mastodox. 

 Coexistent perhaps with the mammoth, a race of 

 huge anm,als, now utterly extinct, once tenanted 

 our slobe: their remains, which are met with in the 

 superficial strata, occur in some localities in sreat 

 abundance ; and, from the differences presented by 

 the teeth and other parts, several species have been 

 identilied lo these animals Cuvier gave the title 

 ol .Mastodon, in allusion to the principal character 

 of the molars, winch, instead of being formed, as in 

 the elephant, of transverse laminae, have the crown 

 ol simple structure, but exhibiting ranges of bold 

 conical elevations, divided from each other by deep 

 furrows (see Fig. 3G9). As the points of these eleva- 

 tions become worn down by use, the crown presents 

 a series of lozenge-shaped lines of thick enamel 

 (Fig. 3/0), but when these are quite obliterated the 

 surface becomes uniform and concave. 



Of the molars thus characterised thfere were two 

 above and below on each side ; but before these mo- 

 lars It would appear that in young individuals others 

 had been situated, and had fallen in succession as 

 Cuvier satisfactorily ascertained from the examina- 

 tion ot various specimens. With regard to the mode 

 of succession in the grinders of the mastodon, it takes 

 place, says Cuvier, by a movement from behind 

 lorwards. When tne back tooth is in the act of 

 piercing the gum, that anterior to it is worn and 

 ready to fall, and they thus replace themselves one 

 at^er the other. It does not appear that it is 

 possible for more than two at a time on each side 

 to be in full operation, and ultimately, as in the 

 elephant, there is only one. That the mastodon 

 had tusks like the elephant is proved by the large 

 a veoh lor their reception. As no perfect skull 

 oi the mastodon is known, it is impossible to define 

 Its contour: it must, however, have had a general 

 resemblance to that of the elephant, inasmuch as 

 the tables of the frontal bone are separated in a 

 similar manner by extensive cells 



rp^j'%?!?'' '" ^^°'^' ^""^ ""^ ^■'^'^'o" generally 

 (Fig. 368) approximates to that of the elephant 

 The mastodon must have possessed a proboscis, as 

 IS evident from a consideration of the structure of 

 the skull and skeleton,-and indeed it would ap- 

 pear that this proboscis has not in every instance 

 been completely decomposed. The relics of the 

 Mastodon giganteus, or " animal of the Ohio," are 

 found m >.orth America, especially in saline mo- 

 ^'' f," K ? }^'t circumstance Barton thinks is 

 to be attributed the occurrence of soft parts still 

 capable of being made out. In 1762 (as he states) 

 ^^1 V *r,^^«'e'o"s which were seen by the natives, 

 one skull still possessed what they called a " long 

 nose with he mouth under it. Kalm. speaking of 

 a huge skeleton which, in accordance with the 

 Ideas of his time, he believed to be that of an 

 elephant, and which was discovered by the savages 

 in the country of the Illinois, says that "the form 

 ofthe trunk (bee) was still apparent, though half 

 decomposed •• Of the several species'of this extiiK 

 genus the Great Mastodon, or animal of the Ohio 

 !f„ B !°f'*t remarkable. Its relics appear to be 

 confined to the American continent : tliey are dis! 

 tnbuted very generally, and are accumulated in 

 soma places in considerable abundance, but no- 



w"^'?^.""«'^'' r ^ '" **>** ^''""c """ass popularly 

 ermed the Big-bone Lick. They are found buried 



It \t A '?r ^'?^ '^' ^°"^^'' "f the morass! 

 at the depth of four feet and upwards, together with 



nn »rr "' ^""^fl""'' ''''^'' &«■ These relics have 

 no appearance of haying been rolled, and, in some 

 places, as for example along the Grea Osage River 

 t'J h?H'°"f r " """"^' P°^'«°". as ifihe ani^ 

 rJr them'""ThT '"'° '^' '""''' ''^ich had closed 

 over them. The ierruginous matter with which the 



^nnrniTh'™'?''^""""'' '^y' ^'""". i« 'he main 

 prool ot their long repose in the earth. 



Ihe traditions which were rife among the Red 

 Men concerning this gigantic animal and its de- 

 struction must not be passed over in silence. M 

 >abri, a trench officer, informed Buffon that the 



Z'fnf r ^'""f '* '^1%' ^""'^ ^^^""«d i" various 

 parts of Canada and Louisiana as belonging to an 

 animal which they named the Pere aux Boeufs 

 1-he Shawnee Indians believed that with these 

 enormous animals there existed men of propor- 

 tionate development, and that the Great Being 

 destroyed both with thunderbolts. Those of Vir- 

 ginia state that as a troop of these terrible qiiad- 

 ropeds were destroying tlie deer, the bisons, and 

 he other animals created for the use ofthe Indians, 

 the Great Man slew them all with his thunder 

 excep the Big Bull, who, nothing daunted, pre! 

 sented his enormous forehead to the bolts, and shook 

 ^IZf T fl *r [''"• ""' '^«'"? at last bounded m 

 L fo'lhL-dry"''' '°"^^''* *'''' 8-=^' '^l'-- -here he 

 Besides the Mastodon giganteus, the followin<r 

 d::", 'm'"'" i'"'' '^- A"?-iid-« (Europe: 

 X'ceDcion ChiH '"m^'^"''''^' ^- Humboldtii 

 (Wncepcion-Chih), M. minutus, M.t apiroides, 



M Turicensis, M. Avernensis (Epplesheim, Puv-de 

 Dome), M. elephantoides (Irawaddi, Sewahk Moun! 

 tains) M latidens (Irawaddi, Sewalik Mountains) 

 and M longirostris, Kaup. Professor Owen h^ 



nameCeciet'' ''"'" ''' ^°^^'^"' "^^ »« ^^^ '-^ 



371, 372, 373.— The Hippopotamus. 

 M. Desmoulins, from an examination of the skulls 



from1out"Ar "'P'""'°^'"' IVom Senegarand 

 rom South Africa, considers that there are two 

 distinct species, which he names respectively H 

 Senegalensis and H. Capensis. Very probably m' 

 De mouhns is correct, but as the habits of bothLeJ 

 cies are precisely the same, and as the distinctive 

 charac ers are founded on osteological minuti onlv 

 we shall not treat them as different, more splcia [y 

 ?ro!ed. ^ " '^*" ^'"'"^'^ "'^" absolutely 

 aHII ,''iPP°P0tamus is a native exclusively of 

 Afiica, where, though much more limited than for- 

 meHy in the range of its habitat, it tenants the 

 iZ. ll"'' ^dsot-the larger rivers, and of the in! 

 and lakes from the Gariep to the upper Nile and 



o th..p 7 '^r''^''- "'^' however, not restricted 

 to these for It is marine as well as fluviatile ; and 

 Di. Smith thinks it difficult to decide whether it 

 gives preference to the river or the sea for its abode 

 during the day. When the opportunity of choosing 



PPfpH .h"" ^^' '''': ^^''^"^^ ^^ '■"""'l 'hat some J- 

 lected the one, and some the other 



Scarcely if at all, inferior to the elephant in bulk, 



t)ut much lower in stature from the shortness ofthe 



Jimbs, this massive animal presents us with the " ne 



hditv Tu l?'>""rf'"' '='"'"^in«^^ and heavy so- 

 ld ty Its body, Ike an enormous barrel sup- 



ground; the head is ponderous; the muzzle is 

 swollen : and the great tJiick lips, studded "^th wire! 

 like bristles, entirely conceal the projecting incisors 

 o the lower jaw, and the huge curved tutks or ca! 



to^ nf'ih '"n"'^ " "''f^' "^« "°**"l'* open «" the 

 top of the swollen muzzle; and the eyes, which are 

 very small are situated high on the head ; hence 

 when ,„ the water, the anfmal by raismg ^eielv a 

 Tfu?^F1'' fe*'0" ofthe head above the surface 

 can both look around and breathe, the body re- 



S'o1Z^th'^"".'"?'''^ '^^'J^'^ are small \nd 

 pointed the tail is short, and furnished with a few 



ZL^"f^''- 7X' ^°''' ''°"'- °" each foot! a,^ 

 tipped with small hoofs. The hide is naked, coarse, 

 and of great thickness, being two inches deep o 

 more on the back and sides. It is made into shields, 

 whips, walking-sticks, &c. Between the skin and 

 the flesh IS a layer ot fat, which is salted and eaten 



?f,.L •'^''^^i^' ^"'""^ '^"'""'^'^ of Southern 

 Africa ; indeed, the epicures of Cape-Town, as Dr. 

 Smith says, do not disdain to use their influence 



fh. n,.H '°Tl'^ ^^""r' to obtain a preference in 

 the mat er of Se«-W, ,pecft^ ^^ ,his fat is termed 

 when salted and dried. The flesh also is excellent 

 and in much request. The general colour of the 

 hippopotamus IS dusky brownish-red, passing on 



the „nf "".'I' '"r" ^ "Sht purple red or brown; 

 the under parts, he lips, and tfie eyelids are ligh 

 wood-brown, with a tinge of flesh-colour; the 

 hinder quarters and the under surface are freckled 

 with spots of dusky brown ; the hairs ofthe tail and 

 ears are black, those on the muzzle yellowish-brown. 

 The male far exceeds the female in size. The 

 hippopotamus is gregarious in its habits, sagacious 

 wary and cautious. It has been long driven away 

 from the rivers within the limits of the Cape colour 

 but in remoter districts, where the sound of the 

 musket 18 seldom heard, it abounds in every larce 

 river, and is comparatively fearless of man " To 

 convey, ' says Dr. Smith, " some idea ofthe numbers 

 n which they were found in several of the rivers 

 towards the tropic of Capricorn, it may suffice to 

 state that in the course of an hour and a half a 

 lew members of the expedition party killed seven 

 within gun-shot of their encampment. Several 

 other individuals were in the same pool, and might 

 a so have been killed, had it been desirable. One 

 ot the survivors was observed to make his escape 

 to an adjoining pool, and in accomplishing that he 

 walked with considerable rapidity along the bottom 

 ot the river, and with his back covered with about 

 a toot of water." 



The hippopotami, according to Dr. Smith, feed 

 cniefly on grass, resorting to situations near the 

 banks of rivers which supply that food. " In dis- 

 tricts fully inhabited by man," says Dr. Smith, " they 

 generally pass the day in the water, and seek their 

 nourishment during the night; but in localities 

 d tteren ly circumstanced they often pass a portion 

 ol the day as well as the night upon dry land. In 

 countries in which the night-time constitutes the 

 only sale period for their leaving the water, thev 

 are generally to be seen effecting their escape from 

 It immediately before dark, or are to be heard doing 

 so soon after the day has closed, and according to 

 tne state ol the surrounding country ; they then 



either directly commence feedinir orh^o-in, ;„, 

 towards localities where food ^^a'^'xTt'"" Whe? 

 previous to nightfall they may havi been in pools 

 or rivers, they are generally at once enabled to 

 commence leed.ng on reaching the dry landTbut 

 when they may have passed the day in the sea thev 

 reqmre commonly to proceed some distance after 

 leaving i , belore they find the grass which appears 

 congenial to their palate. It is not every deS 

 lion 01 grass that hippopotami seem to relish MlX 

 olten pass over, m search of food, luxuriant green 

 swards, which would strongly attract many o her 

 animals which feed upon |rL. Besides liavC a 

 pecuhar relish for the'grasfes of certain situatkfn^ 

 they appear to have a predilection for districts sur^ 

 porting brushwood; and, owing to the latter pecSl 

 ban y, they are often to be found wandering h, 

 bcahties on which but little grass exists, whenfhey 

 might have it in the neighbourhood in great aS 

 ance, but without the accompaniment of wood " 



We learn Irom Mr. Salt, that in the district of 

 Abyssinia watered by the Tacazze, a tributa v to 

 the Nile, hippopotami are very Numerous The 

 Abyssinians term the animal Gomari. As Mr Salt 

 travelled along the line of the river, he found it 

 intei-rupted by frequent overfalls and shallowford^ 

 Between these shallows are holes or pits of vS 

 depth, resembling the lochs and tarns in the mou^- 

 ain districts of Scotland and England. It is to the« 



hp?i M^*^*h' •>'W°P°*'""' '''^"Sht to resort ;an^ 

 here Mr. Salt and his companions observed the2 

 actions which he compares to the rolling of a gram- 

 pus in the sea. " ^ *" 

 "It appeai-9," observes the same traveller, " from 

 what we have witnessed, that the hippopotamu" 

 cannot remain more than five or six minutes at a 

 time under water, being obliged to come up to the 



?esp!ration."°™' '" '"''""' ''"' ^^' P^^'''''^ °^ 

 It has generally been asserted that this hu-^e 

 powerful, and, it should seem, inofi'ensive an mai 

 has no enemy in the brute creation audacious enough 

 to contend with it. Some travellers, however haf e 

 attributed this boldness to the crocodile! describfnff 

 combats between them, which in truth never takf 

 WWi; MrTu^ subsisting between the two animals. 

 While Mr. Salt and his party were engaged shoot- 

 ing at the hippopotami, they frequently observed 

 several crocodiles of an enormous size rise together 

 to the surface of the same stream, apparently re- 

 gardless ot and disregarded by their still more 

 enormous neighbours.-Captain Tuckey, in his 

 expedition to explore the Zaire or Congof observed 

 immense numbers of hippopotami and alligators in 

 hostilft"^ water-an association inconsistent with 

 Burckhardt (see his ' Travels in Nubia') informs us 

 that lower down the Nile, in Dongola, whereThere 

 are neither elephants nor rhinoceroses, the hinno- 

 potamus IS very common. The Arabic name for ft is 

 whl"! I }t " " '^'^'"^ii ''courge to the inhabitants, 

 who lack the means of destroying it. Occasionally 

 but rarely, ii is seen much farther north, even below 

 the cataract of the Nile at Assouan. 



The hippopotamus abounds in the Niger where It 

 was seen by Richard and John Lander Cl'apperton 

 observed them in the lake Muggaby. Bornou" and 

 in the great lake Tchad and its tributary river^ 

 ♦wYk'^"""'' '"ofensive, it is only when attacked 

 that the hippopotamus becomes furious, and if hard 

 pressed on land, he rushes open-mouthed with the 

 utmost desperation on his aggressor. If the party 

 attacking the ammal in his watery domicile te m 

 a boat, their danger is extreme. Captain Owen 

 ('Narrative of Voyages to explore the shores of 

 Atrica, under Captain W. F. W. Owen') had many 

 encounters with these animals. While examinino^ 

 a branch of the Temby river, in Delagoa 8^1 

 violent shock was suddenly felt from Snderneath 

 the boat, and " in another moment a monstrous hip- 

 popotamus reared itself up from the water, and in a 

 most ferocious and menacing attitude rushed open- 

 mouthed at the boat, with one grasp of iU tremen- 

 dous jaws seized and tore seven planks from her 

 side; the creature disappeared for a few seconds 

 and then rose again, apparently intending to re- 

 peat the attack, but was fortunately deterred by the 

 contents of a musket discharged in its face The 

 boat rapidly filled, but as she was not more than an 

 oars length from the shore, they (the crew) suc- 

 seeded in reaching it before she sank. The kee) 

 in all probability, had touched the back ofthe animal' 

 which, irritating him, occasioned this furious attack • 

 and, had he got his upper jaw above the gunwale' 

 the whole broadside must have been torn out. The 

 force of the shock from beneath, previously to the 

 attack, was so violent, that her stern was almost 

 lifted out of the water, and Mr. Tambs, the mid- 

 shipman steering, was thrown overboard, but for 

 tunately rescued before the irritated animal couM 

 seize him. v^^um 



Fig. 374 represents the skeleton of the hippo- 

 potamus, which IS a ponderous frame-work in unison 



