i88 THE WILDERNESS AND JUNGLE 



was common in the old days, but still exists 

 in the lakes and rivers of Central Africa, where 

 tourists are unfortunately permitted to shoot it 

 without making the least attempt to recover 

 the body. This wickedness should be strictly 

 forbidden by the captains of steamers on the 

 Upper Nile, whether on Government boats or 

 not. In view of the reception the hippopotamus 

 meets with on coming to the surface, it is not 

 surprising to learn that it spends most of its 

 existence underwater, being able to remain 

 below for five or ten minutes and actually 

 walking on the bed of the river. A man 

 standing on the edge of a swimming-bath with 

 a loaded gun would soon teach even the most 

 reluctant pupil to swim under water, and refer- 

 ence was made on an earlier page to the un- 

 fortunate effect which such treatment has had 

 on the once-serene temper of these water- 

 babies. I have seen it suggested by apologists 

 of the tourist that this is also the work of the 

 trap with which the natives of the Congo and 

 Zambesi regions catch these creatures, a device 

 which, while it would be unpardonably cruel 

 in the hands of white men with firearms, is 

 quite legitimate for unarmed blacks who have 

 to keep themselves from starvation as best 

 they can. This trap is constructed as follows : 

 An immense block of wood, into the heavier 

 end of which is welded a long metal harpoon, 



