XII 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 
15 
numerous conflicts were a sufficient evidence of 
a vicious character. 
The Hamran Arabs and some other tribes 
attack the hippopotamus with the harpoon. I 
have witnessed these hunts, which are intensely 
exciting. 
When a small herd of these animals are floating 
upon the surface, basking half-asleep in the mid¬ 
day sun, a couple of hunters enter the river about 
200 yards up-stream, and swim cautiously with the 
current in their favour until they arrive within 5 
or 6 yards of the nearest hippo. They hurl the 
harpoons simultaneously, and at the same instant 
they dive beneath the surface, and swim in an 
opposite direction, making direct for the nearest 
shore. 
The hippo, if well struck, is fixed by two har¬ 
poons, to each of which a rope is attached. A float 
of exceedingly light wood, the size of an ordinary 
man’s head, is secured to the extremity of each 
rope, and these are arranged in lengths propor¬ 
tioned to the maximum depth of the river, generally 
about 30 feet. 
When the hippopotamus feels the wound, it 
immediately plunges to the bottom, and rushes 
madly to and fro until it again rises to the surface to 
take breath. It at once perceives the large float 
at the extreme end of the line, and, frightened at 
the unaccustomed object, it seeks the concealment 
of the bottom. 
In the meantime the hunters have safely landed, 
