502

LITTLE DANGER WHILE ON THE RAFT.

barb at the side, having a strong rope of considerable length attached to its upper end, and running over the notched summit of a wooden shaft, which was inserted into the head or blade like a common javelin. It was thrown in the same manner, but, on striking, the shaft fell, and the iron head alone remained in the body of the animal, which, on receiving a wound, plunged into deep water, the rope having been immediately let out. When fatigued by exertion, the hippopotamus was dragged to the boat, from which it again plunged, and the same was repeated till it became perfectly exhausted, frequently receiving additional wounds, and being entangled by other nooses, which the attendants held in readiness as it was brought within their reach."

To return: If the hippopotamus hunt, as just described by me, was conducted altogether from the reed-raft, one's personal safety would be little, or not at all, endangered; for, on account of the great size, buoyancy, and elasticity of the raft, the animal, however wickedly inclined, could neither "board" nor capsize it. But when one pursues him in a canoe-though far the most exciting way-the peril, as shown, is considerable. One morning, when descending the Teoge, we met a party of hippopotami hunters, one of whose canoes had been upset by one of those animals, whereby the life of a man was sacrificed. Indeed, similar mishaps are of constant occurrence on that river.

Our own safety, moreover, was considerably jeopardized by a hippopotamus. One afternoon, about an hour before sunset, I sent a canoe, with several men, in advance, to look out for a bivouac for the night, and to collect fuel. They were scarcely out of sight when an immense hippopotamus, with its calf, rushed out from among the reeds, where she had been concealed, and, passing under our raft, almost immediately afterward made her appearance on the surface of the water. Upon seeing this, I lost no time in firing, but, though to all appearance mortally wounded, we lost sight

FEROCITY OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.

503

of her at the time. A few minutes afterward, however, on coming to a bend of the river, we fell in with the canoe that had been sent on, bottom uppermost, and found, to our great consternation, that the wounded beast, in going down the stream, had caught sight of the canoe, and, instantly attacking it, had, with one blow of her head, capsized it. The men saved themselves by swimming, but all the loose articles were either lost or spoiled by the water. Fortunately for me, however, I had taken the advice of the Bayeye to remove the most valuable of my things, such as books, instruments, &c., to the raft previous to the canoe leaving.

Innumerable instances, showing the ferocity of the hippopotamus, are on record. "Lieutenant Vidal," says Captain Owen, in his Narrative of Voyages, and when speaking of the River Temby, "had just commenced ascending this stream in his boat, when suddenly a violent shock was felt from underneath, and in another moment a monstrous hippopotamus reared itself up from the water, and, in a most ferocious and menacing attitude, rushed, open-mouthed, at the boat, and, with one grasp of its tremendous jaws, seized and tore seven planks from her side; the creature disappeared for a few seconds, and then rose again, apparently intending to renew the attack, but was fortunately deterred by the contents of a musket discharged in its face. The boat rapidly filled, but, as she was not more than an oar's length from the shore, the crew succeeded in reaching it before she sank. The keel, in all probability, touched the back of the animal, which, irritating him, occasioned the furious attack; and had he got his upper jaw above the gunwale, the whole broadside must have been torn out. The force of the shock from beneath, previously to the attack, was so violent that her stern was almost lifted out of the water, when the midshipman steering was thrown overboard, but, fortunately, rescued before the irritated animal could seize him."

In justice, however, to the poor hippopotamus, who, in

these parts, has already earned for itself a sufficiently bad name for ferocity, one must not attribute the whole of the casualties that occur on the Teoge to willful attacks on the part of the animal; for, owing to the narrowness of the stream, it doubtless, at times, happens that, on coming to the surface to breathe, it accidentally encounters a canoe, and in its fright, or, it may be, in playful frolic, upsets it.

The colonists, and others who are possessed of guns, most commonly shoot the animal from the shore; and this is not a matter of any great difficulty, for when it comes to the surface, either to breathe or for amusement, "a single shot through, or under the ear," as Captain Harris truly says, "is fatal to the Behemoth." If there are several "gunners," and they station themselves on the opposite sides of the pool where the hippopotami are congregated (in which case the animals, when rising to the surface, invariably come within range of one or other of the party), great slaughter may be committed.

Should the hippopotamus be killed outright, it usually sinks, but in about half a day reappears at the surface; and, in order eventually to secure the carcass, it is only necessary to keep a sharp look-out in the stream below.

Shooting the hippopotamus from the shore is attended with but little danger. Accidents, however, do at times

occur.

"A native," says Mr. Moffat, "with his boy, went to the river to hunt sea-cows. Seeing one at a short distance below an island, the man passed through a narrow stream to get nearer to the object of his pursuit. He fired, but missed, when the animal immediately made for the island. The man, seeing his danger, ran to cross to the opposite bank of the river; but, before reaching it, the sea-cow seized him, and literally severed his body in two with his monstrous jaws.

Various devices are resorted to by the natives of Southern Africa to destroy the hippopotamus. At times he is entrap

506

DESCRIPTION OF THE DOWNFALL.

ped in pitfalls; but the most ingenious plan, and which will be readily understood by the preceding wood-cut, is by means of the downfall, which the natives would seem to practice with considerable success.

A is Behemoth; B, a downfall, consisting of a log of wood; C C, stones attached to the downfall to increase its weight; D, the harpoon affixed to the lower end of the downfall; E, a tree, or, in lieu of it, an artificial support of about twentyfive feet in height; FF, a line attached to the downfall, which, after having been passed over a branch of the tree or artificial support, crosses horizontally the pathway that the hippopotamus is in the habit of frequenting during his nocturnal rambles. When the animal (which, from the shortness of his legs, lifts his feet but little from the ground) comes in contact with the line, secured on either side of the path by a small peg, it at once snaps, or is disengaged by means of a trigger. The liberated downfall instantly descends, and the harpoon is driven deep into the back of the beast, who, wounded and bloody, rushes with pain and fury to the nearest water, where he shortly dies. His death is sometimes hastened by the iron being poisoned.

CHAPTER XLII.

Return to the Lake.-The Author starts for Namaqua-land to procure Wagons.-Night Adventure with a Lion.-Death of the Beast.Sufferings of the Author.

AFTER about a month's absence, I returned in safety to the Lake, and was delighted to find that affairs were going on prosperously at my camp. My men, however, complained much of the begging and pilfering of the natives. They had also been greatly annoyed by Lecholètébè, who was one of the first persons I encountered on my arrival. I had long been puzzling my brains how I could most effectually pay off