I have been informed by Mr. Bruce that in his travels through Africa he
frequently saw hippopotami in Lake Tzana, in Upper Abyssinia, near the
sources of the Nile; that in this lake these animals are more numerous
than in any other part of the world, and that he saw some which were at
least twenty feet in length.
Dr. Klockner, in his translation of the present work, printed at
Amsterdam, says, he is surprised that M. de Buffon should have
taken no notice of a passage in Diodorus Siculus, respecting the
hippopotamus, in which that author observes, "that among the various
animals produced by the Nile, the crocodile and hippopotamus deserve
the most particular attention; the latter is five cubits long; he
has cloven feet like ruminating animals, and in each of his jaws he
has three large tusks, somewhat like those of a wild boar; while the
prodigious size of his body resembles that of an elephant. His skin is
exceedingly hard and strong, possibly more so than that of any other
animal. He is amphibious, and remains as perfectly at ease under water
as upon land; he, however, comes on shore in the night to seek pasture,
and if the species were numerous, they would prove very destructive
to the cultivated lands of Egypt. To hunt this animal a number of men
assemble, and going in several boats attack him; when once fastened to
a rope, they leave him till he is exhausted with plunging and the loss
of blood: his flesh is hard, and not good for digestion." Dr. Klockner
has also given an account of the manner in which the skin was prepared
of the one sent from the Cape of Good Hope, and is now in the Prince
of Orange's cabinet, the dimensions of which corresponded very nearly
with those of Zerenghi's. He likewise adds, that he was informed by the
nephew of Charles Marias, a peasant of French extraction, who shot
this hippopotamus, and from whom he had the relation, that the animal
had wandered a considerable way upon land, almost to a place called
the Mountains of Snow; this Marias asserted that the hippopotamus runs
very swift upon land, and for which reason these peasants, though good
hunters, never attempted to attack him but when he was in the water;
that it was the practice to watch for him about sun-set, at which time
he raises his head above water, and perceiving any object of prey,
darts upon it with surprising quickness; during his thus floating
on the surface, he keeps his ears in perpetual motion, constantly
listening if any noise is near, and while in this position the hunters
endeavour to shoot him in the head; when wounded he plunges under the
water and traverses about as long as life remains, and then floats to
the top; some of the party swim to him, and being fastened by ropes
he is dragged on shore by oxen, where he is immediately dissected. A
full grown hippopotamus generally yields about 2000 lbs. weight of fat,
which is salted and sent to the Cape, where it is much esteemed and
sells very dear. By compression a mild oil is drawn from it, which in
Africa is considered as a certain remedy for diseases in the breast.
In our preceding description of this animal we remarked, that it
was probable the hippopotamus was so called from his voice having
a resemblance to the neighing of a horse, but from many authentic
accounts, we understand that it comes nearer to the cry of the
elephant, or the indistinct stammerings of persons who are deaf.
When asleep he also makes a snorting noise by which his retreat is
discovered at a distance; and of this he seems aware, as he generally
lies among reeds upon marshy grounds, and where it is very difficult to
come near him.
I cannot consider the remark of Marias, relative to the speed of this
animal, as correct; since so far from its being corroborated, all
others affirm that the hunters rather attack him on land than in the
water, which is a proof they are not afraid of his swiftness; nay, some
affirm that it is customary to impede his return by trees and ditches,
from his constantly endeavouring to regain the water, where he has no
enemy to apprehend, as both crocodiles and sharks carefully avoid him.
As we before observed, his skin is so extremely hard on his back, &c.
that neither arrows nor musket balls can pierce it, but it is thinner
on the belly and insides of the thighs, at which parts therefore the
hunters constantly aim. They sometimes endeavour to break his leg
with large blunderbusses, and if they succeed in that their conquest
is certain. The negroes who do not hesitate to attack the sharks and
crocodiles, commonly avoid the hippopotamus, and would probably never
dare to encounter him, but from a presumption that if they fail he
cannot overtake them; those of Angola, Congo, Elmina, and the western
coasts of Africa, consider him as an inferior deity, but yet they feel
no repugnance in devouring his flesh when they can procure it with
safety.
The female brings forth among the rushes upon land, but she soon
teaches her young to take refuge in the water, and which they do on
the smallest alarm. P. Labat asserts, that this animal has sufficient
intelligence to let himself blood when he feels a necessity, and that
he performs the operation by rubbing a particular part of his skin
against a sharp-pointed rock, and that when he thinks he has bled
enough he rolls himself in the mud until he has stopped the wound; and
it has also been affirmed that the Indian painters make use of his
blood as one of their colours.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon_
[Illustration: FIG. 150. _Rein-Deer._]
[Illustration: FIG. 149. _Elk._]