VIEWS OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.
The hippopotamus is a most peculiar, unwieldy animal, found only in
Africa. Numerous fossil remains that have been found in other parts of
the globe, would tend to prove that this animal was more widely
distributed in prehistoric times.
Until quite recently but one variety of the hippopotamus was known in
Africa. A new and distinct variety has been found frequenting the large
rivers of West Africa within the tropics. This differs from the other
very materially in size. It is much smaller, in fact. It is said, also,
to differ from the common hippopotamus and from all fossil specimens in
having only two incisors, instead of four, in the lower jaw.
The hippopotamus is aquatic in its habits. It lives mostly in lakes or
in rivers. Sometimes it is found in tidal estuaries, where the saltness
of the water forces it to resort to springs in order to find water to
drink. It has been found sometimes in the sea, but never at any great
distance from the shore.
It may be said to be amphibious in its nature; for it spends most of its
time in the water, but frequents the land in search of food, which
consists of various plants that grow in shallow waters, or that may be
found along the shores of lakes and margins of rivers.
The animal is of no little service in keeping the current of sluggish
streams free from the luxuriant growth of tropical vegetation. Were it
not that the creature browses upon this growth, the streams would soon
become choked, and their beds would become dismal swamps, of the kind
common to Africa.
When in want of food from the land these animals leave the water at
night to feed along the banks, or to make havoc in the cultivated
fields, as they trample down and devour the crops. As they always travel
in herds of twenty or thirty, it is no small misfortune for a herd to
visit any section under cultivation. It is little wonder, then, that war
has been waged against them, until in some regions they have ceased to
exist. Doubtless this accounts for the fact that they are no longer
found in the districts of Lower Egypt, though found to quite a large
extent farther up the Nile.
The common hippopotamus is one of the largest of all living animals. The
bulk of its body is very nearly as great as that of the elephant. Its
legs, being very short, give it a most ungainly gait as it tries to
support its great bulk in walking. Unlike the elephant, it is not a very
tall animal, its height rarely reaching above five feet.
The hippopotamus, like the elephant, belongs to the family of
_thick-skinned_ animals. The skin on its back and sides is more than two
inches thick. The skin is described as dark brown in color, and almost
destitute of hair. It is kept constantly lubricated by means of the
numerous pores, which exude a thick, oily fluid in great abundance.
The neck of the hippopotamus is short and thick, while the head is very
large. Its small eyes and ears are placed so high on the head that, in
spite of the shortness of the neck, they can easily be kept above the
surface of any body of water in which the animal may lie almost hidden
from view. The muzzle is very large, with a rounded, swollen surface.
The great ugly nostrils and huge lips, which conceal the large front
teeth, give the animal a most unattractive and repulsive expression.
It can cut down grass or corn with its large front teeth as well as if
it were done with a scythe. So great is the strength of the teeth that
stems of considerable thickness can be easily and neatly bitten through
like a blade of grass.
The legs of the hippopotamus are, as we have seen, short and thick. Its
feet are divided into four toes of nearly equal size, each covered with
a horny hoof. Its short tail and the shape of its skull remind one of
the pig family.
It breathes very slowly, and hence is enabled to remain under water for
a long time, coming to the surface only at intervals for air. It can
swim and dive easily, and often amuses itself by walking along the
bottom of the river or lake with its body completely under water.
It is very active and playful in the water, but it soon learns to hide
away from man. If it cannot conceal itself among the reeds, it dives
under water and remains there hidden from sight, raising only its nose
above water, as it finds it necessary to take another breath. It is no
unfrequent thing to see the mother hippopotamus swimming across a stream
with her little one clinging to her back.
By nature the hippopotamus is rather an inoffensive animal. Occasionally
it becomes greatly enraged, as when pursued by hunters in boats, and
then may be well considered dangerous. Its voice, which is loud, harsh,
and grating, has been likened to the creaking and groaning of a large
wooden door upon its rusty hinges.
Like the elephant, the hippopotamus can be tamed. It then becomes much
attached to man. In its wild state it commits such mischief among the
crops of the fields and in sections under cultivation that it is closely
hunted. Sometimes it is taken in pits which are dug along its usual
tracks. Sometimes it is killed by poisoned arrows, or by pursuing it in
canoes. The natives harpoon it or shoot it with rifles.
Its flesh is highly prized. Under the skin there is a thick layer of
fat, which is considered a great African delicacy. This fat, when
salted, is called "lake-cow bacon" at the Cape of Good Hope. The tongue
is much esteemed, as is also a jelly made from the feet. The thick hide
is used for a variety of purposes. The great front teeth are very
valuable as ivory and form an important feature of African commerce.
Livingstone gives an interesting description of a tribe of hippopotamus
hunters, whose ancestors for generations had followed the same
pursuit:--
"They follow no other occupation, but when their game is getting scanty
at one spot they remove to some other part of the Loangwa, Zambesi, or
Shire, and build temporary huts on an island, where their women
cultivate patches. The flesh of the animals they kill is eagerly
exchanged by the more settled people for grain. They are not stingy, and
are ever welcome guests. I never heard of any fraud in dealing, or that
they had been guilty of an outrage on the poorest; their chief
characteristic is their courage.
"Their hunting is the bravest thing I ever saw. Each canoe is manned by
two men; the canoes are long, light crafts, scarcely half an inch in
thickness, about eighteen inches beam, and from eighteen to twenty feet
long. They are formed for speed and shaped somewhat like our racing
boats.
"The crew use broad, short paddles, and as they guide the canoe slowly
down stream to a sleeping hippopotamus, not a single ripple is raised
on the smooth water. They look as if holding in their breath, and
communicate by signs only.
"As they come near the prey, the harpooner in the bow lays down his
paddle and rises slowly up, and there he stands erect, motionless, and
eager, with the long-handled weapon poised at arm's length above his
head, till, coming close to the beast, he plunges it with all his might
in towards the heart.
"During this exciting feat he has to keep his balance exactly. His
neighbor in the stern at once backs his paddle, the harpooner sits down,
seizes his paddle, and backs, too, to escape. The animal, surprised and
wounded, seldom meets the attack at this stage of the hunt. The next
stage, however, is full of danger.
"The barbed blade of the harpoon is secured by a long and very strong
rope wound round the handle. It is intended to come out of its socket,
and while the iron head is firmly fixed in the animal's body, the rope
unwinds and the handle floats on the surface.
"The hunter next goes to the handle and hauls on the rope until he knows
that he is right over the beast. When he feels the line suddenly
slacken, he is prepared to deliver another harpoon the instant that
hippo's enormous jaws appear, with a terrible grunt, above the water.
"The backing by the paddles is again repeated, but hippo often assaults
the canoe, crunches it in his jaws as easily as a pig would a bunch of
asparagus, or shivers it with a kick by his hind foot.
"Deprived of their canoe the gallant comrades instantly dive and swim
to the shore under water. They say that the infuriated beast looks for
them on the surface, and being below they escape his sight. When caught
by many harpoons, the crews of several canoes seize the handles and drag
him hither and thither till, weakened by loss of blood, he succumbs.
This hunting requires the greatest skill, courage, and nerve that can be
conceived."