THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 131 



and broken its thigh. "But we had scarcely reached 

 it," he writes, " than at a few yards distance, on the 

 river bank, the mother showed herself, and with fear- 

 ful roars ran towards us, her terrible jaws wide open. 

 This sudden and unexpected apparition so terrified us, 

 that we thought of nothing but flying as quickly as 

 possible; and to prevent any impediment to our speed 

 we even threw down our rifles. For my part, I did 

 not hesitate a moment in doing so with mine, which, 

 being discharged, was useless. The mother, having 

 recovered her young one, did not attempt to follow us, 

 but returned with it peaceably into the water; and 

 her retreat permitted us to go and pick up our guns." 

 Returning to Span-man and his captive : this calf 

 was three feet six inches long and two feet high. Ac- 

 cording to the conjectures of the Hottentots, it could 

 not be more than two or three weeks old. It soon 

 showed signs of a disposition to sociability; but the 

 Hottentots, who have a special liking for its flesh 

 which, in fact, is agreeable and wholesome, and very 

 like beef did not give him time to become perfectly 

 tame. 



V. 



THE lameness of the young hippopotamus mentioned 

 above leads us to say, that it is very common to find 



K 2 



