280 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 



]y thing original we have upon this fubject, it 

 feems to have been totally neglected both by 

 contemporary and fucceeding naturalifts. The 

 defcription it contains of the hippopotamus is, at 

 the fame time, fo good, and appears fo worthy 

 of credit, that I ihall here give an extract and 

 tranflation of it, 



' With a view,' fays Zerenghi, ' of obtaining 

 an hippopotamus, I Rationed men upon the 

 Nile, who, having feen two of thefe animals go 

 out of the river, made a large ditch in the way 

 through which they paiTed, and covered it with 

 thin planks, earth, and herbage. In the even- 

 ing, when returning to the river, they both fell 

 into the ditch. I was immediately informed 

 of the event, and haftened to the place along 

 with my JanifTary. We killed both the ani- 

 mals by pouring three fhot into each of their 

 heads from a large arquebufe. They almoft 

 inftantly expired, after uttering a cry which 

 had more refemblance to the bellowing of 

 a buffalo, than to the neighing of a horfe. 

 This exploit was performed on the 20th day 

 of July 1600. The following day, they were 

 drawn out of the ditch, and carefully fkinned. 

 The one was a male, and the other a female. 

 I caufed their fkins to be faked, and (turfed 

 with the leaves of the fugar cane, in order to 

 tranfport them to Cairo, where they were 

 falted a fecond time with more attention and 

 convenience. Each fkin required four hun- 

 dred pounds of fait. On my return from E- 



' gyptj 



