:i2 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 



j 



mod authentic accounts, however, it appears that 

 his cry has a greater fimilarity to that of the ele- 

 phant, or to the Hammering and indiftincT: founds 

 uttered hy deaf perfons. Befide this cry, the 

 hippopotamus, when allecp, makes a kind of 

 fnorting noife, which betrays him at a diftance. 

 To prevent the danger arifing from this circum- 

 ftance, he generally lies among the reeds that 

 grow upon marfhy grounds, and which it is dim- 

 cult to approach. 



I can no where find the remark of Marais, 

 concerning the agilitv of this animal, confirmed. 

 We are perpetually aiTured, on the contrary, that 

 the hunters choofe rather to attack him on land 

 than in the water, which indicates, that they are 

 not afraid of his fwiftnefs. According to other 

 ' hiftorians, his return to the river is cut off by trees 

 and ditches ; becaufe they know that he uni- 

 formly inclines to regain the water, where he 

 has no other animal to fear, rather than to fight 

 or fly upon land. The great mark and the 

 crocodile avoid the hippopotamus, and dare not 

 engage with him. 



The fkin of the hippopotamus is fo extreme- 

 ly hard on the back, the crupper, and the exter- 

 nal parts of the thighs and buttocks, that neither 

 arrows nor muiket balls can pierce it. But it 

 is fofter and thinner on the infide of the thighs 

 and belly, where the hunters endeavour to flioot 

 him, or to pierce him with a javelin. He is 

 Ktr^inely tenacious of life ; and, therefore, they 



try 



