THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 187 
^hese animals are killed in a year. When 
young, the flesh is very good, hut when full- 
Sfown, it is in general too fat. The hide 
•^akes excellent whips, each furnishing from 
^'^Ur to five hundred. No use is made of the 
^eeth. 
“ One of the hippopotami which we killed,” 
'Continues Dr. Rlippel, “ was an old fellow of 
^tiormous size, measuring thirteen feet and a 
^alfj French measure, from the nose to the 
®^tremity of the tail : his incisive teeth were 
'■'venty-six French inches in length. W e were 
^•igaged with him for four good hours by 
I ^ight, and were very near losing our large 
^oat, and probably our lives too, owing to the 
^’ify of the animal. As soon as he spied the 
^'inters in the canoe, whose business it was to 
^^sten the long rope to the float, he dashed at 
with all his might, dragged the canoe 
''ith him under water, and smashed it in 
pieces. The two men with difficulty escaped. 
