HIPPOPOTAMI. 137 



dry the pulp before the fire, in order to be able the more 

 easily to get rid of the noxious seed. 



The rapids in the part of the river between Katima- 

 molelo and Nam eta are relieved by several reaches of still, 

 deep water, fifteen or twenty miles long. In these very 

 'arge herds of hippopotami are seen ; and the deep furrows 

 they make, in ascending the banks to graze during the 

 nights, are everywhere apparent. . They are guided back 

 to the water by the scent; but a long-continued pouring rain 

 makes it impossible to perceive by that means in which 

 direction the river lies, and they are found bewildered on 

 the land. The hunters take advantage of their helplessness 

 on these occasions to kill them. 



It is impossible to judge of the numbers in a herd, for 

 they are almost always hidden beneath the waters; but, as 

 they require to come up every few minutes to breathe, 

 when there is a constant succession of heads thrown up, 

 then the herd is supposed to be large. They love a still 

 reach of the stream, as in the more rapid parts of the 

 channel they are floated down so quickly that much exer- 

 tion is necessary to regain the distance lost, by frequently 

 swimming up again : such constant exertion disturbs them 

 in their nap. They prefer to remain by day in a drowsy, 

 yawning state, and, though their eyes are open, they take 

 little notice of things at a distance. The males utter a 

 loud succession of snorting grunts, which may be heard 

 a mile off. The canoe in which I was, in passing over a 

 wounded one, elicited a distinct grunting, though the 

 animal lay entirely under the water. 



The young, when very little, take their stand on the 

 neck of the dam, and the small head, rising above the 

 large, comes soonest to the surface. The dam, knowing 

 the more urgent need of her calf, comes more frequently to 

 the surface when it is in her care. But in the rivers of 

 Londa, where they are much in danger of being shot, even 

 the hippopotamus gains wit by experience; for, while those 

 in the Zambesi put up their heads openly to blow, those 



