ITS INTELLIGENCE AND MEMORY 435 



the rest sprang to the shore, which was only about ten yards olF ; 

 the beast looking all the time at the canoe, as if to ascertain 

 what mischief it had done. 



In rivers where it is seldom disturbed, such as the Zambesi, 

 the hippopotamus puts up its head openly to blow, and follows 

 the traveller with an inquisitive glance, as if asking him, 

 like the "moping owl" in the elegy, why he came to molest 

 its "ancient solitary reign?" but in other rivers, such as those 

 of Londa, where it is much in danger of being shot, the hippo- 

 potamus takes good care to conceal its nose among water 

 plants, and to breathe so quietly that one would not dream of 

 its existence in the river, except by footprints on the banks. 

 Notwithstanding its stupid look, its prominent eyes and naked 

 snout giving it more the appearance of a gigantic boiled 

 calf's head than anything else, the huge creature is by no 

 means deficient in intelligence, knows how to avoid pitfalls, 

 and has so good a memory that, when it has once heard a ball 

 whiz about its ears, it never after ceases to be cautious and 

 " wide awake " at the approach of danger. Being vulner- 

 able only behind the ear, however, or in the eye, it requires 

 the perfection of rifle-practice to be hit ; and, when once in 

 the water, is still more difficult to kill, as it dives and swims 

 with all the ease of a walrus or a sea-elephant, its huge body 

 being rendered buoyant by an abundance of fat. Its flesh is 

 said to be delicious, resembling the finest young pork, and is 

 considered as great a delicacy in Africa as a bear's paw or a bison's 

 hump in the prairies of North America. The thick and almost 

 inflexible hide may be dragged from the ribs in strips, like the 

 planks from a ship's side. These serve for the manufacture of 

 a superior description of sjambok, the elastic whip with which 

 the Cape boor governs his team of twelve oxen or more, while 

 proceeding on a journey. In Northern Africa it is used to 

 chavStise refractory dromedaries or servants ; and the ancient 

 Egyptians employed it largely in the manufacture of shields, 

 helmets, and javelins. 



But the most valuable part of the hippopotamus is its teeth 

 (canine and incisors), which are considered greatly superior to 

 elephant ivory, and when perfect and weighty, will fetch as 

 much as one guinea per pound, being chiefly used for artificial 

 teeth, since it does not readily turn yellow. All these qualities 



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