THE SAVAGE WORLD, 
568 
rather than by the countless spears lodged in its yawning throat. The fight 
between hippopotamus and hunters continued fast and furious for three hours, 
when Sir Samuel Baker terminated the contest by a lucky shot. 
An Arab who, in protecting his melon patch tried to drive away a hippo- 
potamus , was himself first put to flight and then killed by the bold burglar. 
Harpooning the hippopotamus is a popular method employed by the natives to 
destroy this huge creature, as will be soon explained, but other means equally 
effective are resorted to, among which I may mention the use of what is known 
as the hippopotamus dead-fall, made by attaching a large iron spear, heavily 
weighted and suspended above the path frequented by the animal in his 
excursions to and from the water. A line is fixed across this path so that 
ATTACKED BY HIPPOPOTAMUSES. 
when the hippopotamus strikes it the spear above is loosed and it falls upon 
the animal with fatal effect. The hippopotamus''s irritation at novelties, increased 
at times by personal wounds, leads it to charge upon boats, and sometimes 
to wreck these. Sir Samuel Baker tells of a most remarkable contest of this 
kind where the animal, although repeatedly driven off with fresh bullet-wounds, 
returned again and again—even going so far as to retire for some hours and 
then renew the attack. Finally his career was stopped by a bullet, and the 
boatmen felt a very decided relief. 
Stanley in his “ Through the Dark Continent” tells of two hippopotamuses 
taking part in a battle between himself and the natives. While the fight was 
going on, these two creatures deliberately swam out and commenced belligerent 
