108 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
biting large pieces out of their sides They some- 
times are very destructive to the plantations neat 
the river, by eating and treading down the crops. 
297. The Hottentots eat the flesh of this animal 
after it has become putrid. Professor Thunberg 
states, that he one day passed a Hottentot’s tent, 
which had been pitched for the purpose of eating the 
body of a Hippopotamus, that had been killed some 
time before. He says that the inhabitants of the 
tent were in the midst of such stench that the 
travellers could hardly pass them without being suf- 
focated. 
THE GREAT MORSE. 
298. This is a large animal, often measuring 
eighteen feet in length, and ten or twelve in circum- 
ference. Its eyes are diminutive, and its legs short. 
It has two great tusks proceeding downwards from 
the upper jaw. These tusks assist the animal in 
scraping shell-fish out of the sand, in climbing the 
ice-islands, and in contending with its enemies 
How do the Hottentots eat its flesh 1 
Describe the Great Morse. 
