304 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 



author remarks, that its voice refembled the 

 neighing of a horfe, which perhaps induced him 

 to give it the denomination of hippopotamus or 

 river -horfe. M. de Buffon founded his opi- 

 nion of this matter upon the tefti monies of an- 

 cient and modern authors. Diodorus Siculus 

 ought to have held the firft rank among the 

 former, fince he not only travelled into Egypt, 

 but is juftly efteemed to be one of the bed hi- 

 storians of antiquity. The following are the 

 words of the paiTage alluded to : 'The Nile pro- 

 duces feveral animals, of which the crocodile 

 and hippopotamus merit particular attention. 

 . . The latter is five cubits in length. His 

 feet are cloven like thofe of the ruminating: 

 animals ; and in each jaw he has three tufks 

 larger than thofe of the wild boar. The 

 whole mafs of his body refembles that of the 

 elephant. His (kin is harder and flronger 

 than, perhaps, that of any other animal. He 

 is amphibious, and remains, during the day, 

 under the water, where he moves and acts in 

 the fame manner as if he were ©n land, which 

 he vifits in the night, in order to feed on the 

 herbage of the mountains. If this animal were 

 more prolific, he would commit great devalua- 

 tion in the cultivated fields of Egypt. The 

 hunting of the hippopotamus requires a num- 

 ber of men, who endeavour to pierce him with 

 iron daggers. They attack him with feveral 

 * boats joined together, and ftrike with crooked 



1 harpoons 



