The
old man plunged into the deep pool just quitted by the hippo, and
landed upon our side; while in the enthusiasm of the moment I
waved my cap above my head, and gave him a British cheer as he
reached the shore.
His usually stern features relaxed into a grim
smile of delight: this was one of those moments when the
gratified pride of the hunter rewards him for any risks. I
congratulated him upon his dexterity: but much remained to be
done. I proposed to cross the river, and to follow upon the
tracks of the hippopotamus, as I imagined that the buoy and rope
would catch in the thick jungle, and that we should find him
entangled in the bush; but the old hunter gently laid his hand
upon my arm, and pointed up the bed of the river, explaining that
the hippo would certainly return to the water after a short
interval.
In a few minutes later, at a distance of nearly half a mile, we
observed the hippo emerge from the jungle, and descend at full
trot to the bed of the river, making direct for the first rocky
pool in which we had noticed the herd of hippopotami. Accompanied
by the old howarti (hippo hunter), we walked quickly towards the
spot: he explained to me that I must shoot the harpooned hippo,
as we should not be able to secure him in the usual method by
ropes, as nearly all our men were absent from camp, disposing of
the dead elephants.
Upon reaching the pool, which was about a hundred and thirty
yards in diameter, we were immediately greeted by the hippo, who
snorted and roared as we approached, but quickly dived, and the
buoyant float ran along the surface, directing his course in the
same manner as the cork of a trimmer with a pike upon the hook.
Several times he appeared, but, as he invariably faced us, I
could not obtain a favourable shot; I therefore sent the old
hunter round the pool, and he, swimming the river, advanced to
the opposite side, and attracted the attention of the hippo who
immediately turned towards him. This afforded me a good chance,
and I fired a steady shot behind the ear, at about seventy yards,
with a single-barrelled rifle. As usual with hippopotami, whether
dead or alive, he disappeared beneath the water at the shot. The
crack of the ball and the absence of any splash from the bullet
told me that he was hit; the ambatch float remained perfectly
stationary upon the surface. I watched it for some minutes--it
never moved; several heads of hippopotami appeared and vanished
in different directions, but the float was still; it marked the
spot where the grand old bull lay dead beneath.
I shot another hippo, that I thought must be likewise dead; and,
taking the time by my watch, I retired to the shade of a tree
with Hassan, while Hadji Ali and the old hunter returned to camp
for assistance in men and knives, &c.
In a little more than an hour and a half, two objects like the
backs of turtles appeared above the surface: these were the
flanks of the two hippos. A short time afterwards the men
arrived, and, regardless of crocodiles, they swam towards the
bodies. One was towed directly to the shore by the rope attached
to the harpoon, the other was secured by a long line, and dragged
to the bank of clean pebbles.
I measured the bull that was harpooned; it was fourteen feet two
inches from the upper lip to the extremity of the tail; the head
was three feet one inch from the front of the ear to the edge of
the lip in a straight line. The harpoon was sticking in the nape
of the neck, having penetrated about two and a half inches
beneath the hide; this is about an inch and three-quarters thick
upon the back of the neck of a bull hippopotamus. It was a
magnificent specimen, with the largest tusks I have ever seen;
the skull is now in my hall in England.
Although the hippopotamus is generally harmless, the solitary old
bulls are sometimes extremely vicious, especially when in the
water. I have frequently known them charge a boat, and I have
myself narrowly escaped being upset in a canoe by the attack of
one of these creatures, without the slightest provocation. The
females are extremely shy and harmless, and they are most
affectionate mothers: the only instances that I have known of the
female attacking a man, have been those in which her calf had
been stolen. To the Arabs they are extremely valuable, yielding,
in addition to a large quantity of excellent flesh, about two
hundred pounds of fat, and a hide that will produce about two
hundred coorbatches, or camel whips. I have never shot these
useful creatures to waste; every morsel of the flesh has been
stored either by the natives or for our own use; and whenever we
have had a good supply of antelope or giraffe meat, I have
avoided firing a shot at the hippo. Elephant flesh is exceedingly
strong and disagreeable, partaking highly of the peculiar smell
of the animal. We had now a good supply of meat from the two
hippopotami, which delighted our people. The old Abou Do claimed
the bull that he had harpooned as his own private property, and
he took the greatest pains in dividing the hide longitudinally,
in strips of the width of three fingers, which he cut with great
dexterity.
Although the hippopotamus is amphibious, he requires a large and
constant supply of air; the lungs are of enormous size, and he
invariably inflates them before diving. From five to eight
minutes is the time that he usually remains under water; he then
comes to the surface, and expends the air within his lungs by
blowing; he again refills the lungs almost instantaneously, and
if frightened, he sinks immediately.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 89 of 149
Words from 89849 to 90865
of 151461
