ENCOUNTER WITH A fflPPOPOTAMUS. - 145 



means of securing my prey, I took out my knife and 

 out two deep parallel incisions through the skin on her 

 rump. Lifting this skin from the flesh so that I could 

 get in my two hands, I made use of this as a handle ; 

 and after some desperate hard work, sometimes push- 

 ing and sometimes pulling, the sea-cow continuing her 

 circular course all the time, and I holding on at her 

 rump like grim Death, eventually I succeeded in bring- 

 ing this gigantic and most powerful animal to the bank. 

 Here the Bushman quickly brought me a stout buffa- 

 lo rheim from my horse's neck, which I passed through 

 the opening in the thick skin, and moored Behemoth 

 to a tree. I then took my rifle and sent a ball through 

 the center of her head, and she was numbered with the 

 dead. 



At this moment my wagons came up within a few 

 hundred yards of the spot, where I outspanned, and by 

 moonlight we took down a span of select oxen and a 

 pair of rheim chains, and succeeded in dragging the 

 sea-cow high and dry. We were all astonished at her 

 enormous size ; she appeared to be about five feet broad 

 across the belly. I could see much beauty in the ap- 

 imal, which Nature has admirably formed for the am- 

 phibious life it was destined to pursue. 



We were occupied all the morning of the 19th cut- 

 ting up and salting the select parts of the sea-cow ; of 

 the skull I took particular charge. She was extreme- 

 ly fat, more resembling a pig than a cow or a horse. 

 In the evening I rode down the river, and shot a brace 

 of water-bucks, after which I left the river-bank and 

 rode to the summit of an adjacent hill, from which I 

 obtained a fine view of the surrounding country. Many 

 bold blue mountain ranges stood to the north and north- 

 west ; to the east and southeast were also mountain 

 Vol. II.— G 



