184 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
supply of his food, he is now seldom 
below the cataracts. It was long pretende^^ 
that he devoured great quantities of fish, b'^*' 
a better acquaintance with his structure h^^ 
proved that he subsists wholly upon vegetable 
substances. The stomach, like that of the ruD**' 
nating animals, is divided into several pouches- 
Dr. Riippel, a German traveller, gives 
following account of the mode of hunting 
hippopotamus in Dongola : — 
The harpoon with which the natives attach 
this animal terminates in a flat oval piece ^ 
iron, made very sharp on three fourths of 
outer edge. To the upper part of this | 
is attached one end of a long stout cord, tb® 
other extremity of which is tied to a thi^b 
piece of light wood. The hunters attack tb^ 
animal either by day or by night, but th^y 
prefer daylight, because then it is easier 
them to escape the attacks of their furio’^’^ 
enemy. One part of the rope, with the sha^*" 
