THE COMMON HIPPOPOTAMUS. 155 
be obtained. By the natives they are trapped 
in pits, while the colonists use the rifle. They 
are valuable both on account of the uses to which 
their skins are applied, their much esteemed meat, 
and particularly for the estimation in which the 
ivory of their teeth is held. 
Burchell describes the colour of the animal 
as of an uniform hue, correctly imitated by a 
light tint of China ink, and having the skin des- 
titute of hair, except a few scattered bristles on 
the muzzle, edges of the ears, and tail. The 
eyes and ears were disproportionally small ; the 
mouth altogether disproportionally large. The 
animal alluded to was the first of the kind Mr 
Burchell had seen newly killed. It was said only 
to be half grown, yet its bulk was equal to twc 
oxen. Upon arriving at the spot, they were 
floating the animal to the bank, and were labour- 
ing hard to get it out of the water ; the mon- 
strous size, and almost shapeless mass of even a 
small Hippopotamus, when lying on the ground, 
compared with the people who stood around it, 
appeared enormous. When rolled upon the 
grassy bank, all who had knives immediately fell 
to work in cutting it up. The hide, above an 
inch in thickness, and hardly flexible, was dragged 
off, as if they had been tearing the planks from a 
ship’s side ; it was carefully divided into pieces, 
that would best admit of being cut into shamboks, 
