288 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, 



po:amus is an animal whofe body is longer, and 

 as thick as that of the rhinoceros ; that his legs 

 are much fliorier *; that his head is not fo long, 

 but larger in proportion to his body ; that he 

 has no horns, either on the nofe, like the rhi- 

 noceros, or on the head, like the ruminating 

 animals. As the cry he utters when pained is 

 compofed, according to ancient authors and mo- 

 dern travellers f , of the neighing of a horfe and 



the 



fea buffalo. But I, and fome others, who had read defcrip- 

 tions of this animal, knew it to be a fea horfe. It was brought 

 dead to Cairo by the Janiffaries, who fhot it on land, where it 

 had come to feed. They poured feveral fhots into it before it 

 fell; tor, as I formerly remarked, a mufket ball hardly pierces 

 its ikin. But one ball entered its jaw, and brought it to the 

 ground. None of thefe animals had been feen at Cairo for a 

 long time; Re/at. d'un voyage du Levant ', par Tbevenot t torn. 1. 

 /. 491. 



* The legs of the hippopotamus are fo fhort, that the belly 

 of the animal, when he walks, is not more than four inches 

 above the ground ; Belon des poijbns, p. 1 7. — Crura e terra ad 

 •oentrem pedes tres cum dimidto ; Fabius Columna, p. 31. The 

 teftimonies of Belon and Columna, with regard to the length 

 of the legs, differ fo widely, that none of their dimeniions 

 can be adopted. It muft be remarked, that the hippopota- 

 mus which Belon faw alive, was very young and very fat ; 

 that, of courfe, his belly muft have been large and pendulous ; 

 that, on the contrary, the fkin defcribed by Columna, which 

 was the fame with that of Zerenghi, had been dried with 

 fait, and, confequently, Columna could not be certain that 

 the belly of the animal was not round but fiat. Thus the 

 meafures of Belon are too fhort for an adult hippopotamus, 

 and thofe of Columna too long for a living one. Hence we 

 may infer from both, that, in general, the belly of this ani- 

 mal is not above a foot and a half from the ground ; and that, 

 as Zerenghi remaiks, its legs exceed not two feet in length. 



f Vocem equinam edit, illius gentis relatione; Profp. Alp. 



Egypt. 



