THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 139 



cumspect ; they confined themselves to merely exposing 

 their nostrils above the water, spouting it into the air 

 by the force of their breathing," 



The most common mode of hunting in South 

 Africa is also with the rifle. In the regions visited 

 by Le Vaillant, Span-man, and Livingstone, they 

 also dig pits in the paths followed by the animal. 

 M. du Chaillu tells us, on the contrary, that the 

 employment of this trap is unknown on the Gaboon. 



He thus relates one of his hunts : 



" There was here a place in the river shallow 

 enough for them to stand in and play around; and 

 here they remained all day, playing in the deep 

 water or diving, but for the most part standing on 

 the shallow, with only their ugly noses pointed out 

 of the water, and looking for all the world exactly 

 like so many old weatherbeaten logs stranded on 

 a sand-bar. We approached slowly and with caution 

 to within thirty yards of the school, without seeming 

 to attract the slightest attention from the sluggish 

 animals : stopping there, I fired five shots, and, so 

 far as I could see, killed three hippopotami. The 

 ear is one of the most vulnerable spots, and this 

 was my mark every time. The first shot was 

 received with but little attention, but the struggles 

 of the dying animal, which turned over several times 

 and. finally sank to the bottom, seemed to rouse the 

 herd, who began to plunge about and dive down 'into 



