HIPPOPOTAMUS.* 
S&2 
gerly devours as soon as lie perceives them ; such a 
quantity of dry food soon disposes him to drink ; and 
the water swelling the peas in his belly,, bursts the 
vessels/ and he falls dead on the shore. The Hot- 
tentots sometimes practise the same stratagem. 
But they more commonly either intercept the ani- 
mal in pits dug in places through which lie has 
been observed to pass, or shoot him with tin 
balls. 
The hippopotamus affords many articles of con- 
siderable utility to human life. His flesh is a 
wholesome, and not unpleasant food ; The Hot- 
tentots, the CafFrarians, and even the Dutch colo- 
nists at the Cape, eat it with great eagerness. In 
Egypt likewise this animal has been sought for his 
flesh. Dr. Pocock saw it sold in the market. 
The negroes of Angola, Congo, and of the whole 
west cbast of Africa in general, though they vene- 
rate this mighty inhabitant of the rivers as a deity, 
yet scruple not to eat him. The flesh is said to be 
tender. The fat is not so rancid and greasy as that 
of most other animals. The gelatinous part of the 
feet, when well- dressed, is a great delicacy. The 
dried tongue of an hippopotamus is considered, 
even at the Cape of Good Hope, as a rare and 
savoury dish. Dr. Sparrman, on his return to 
Europe, furnished the king of Sweden’s table with 
one of these tongues, two feet eight inches in 
length. The teeth of the hippopotamus are of a 
harder and whiter substance than those of the 
elephant. Dentists prefer them on account ©f these 
qualities, even to ivory, for the replacing lost teeth 
in the human jaw. The hide is rather thicker 
than that of the rhinoceros. It is a sufficient load 
for a camel. The inhabitants of the Cape make 
excellent whips of it, which, after being used for 
some time, become more pliable that! those made 
the hide of the rhinoceros. The blood of this 
