1776. January. h'eurkb burkb, bub-bub : the two firft being uttered {lowly, in a hoarfe but iharp and tremulous found, refembling the grunting of other animals; while the third, or compound word, is founded extremely quick, and is not unlike the neighing of a horfe. It is true, it is impoffible to exprefs thefe inarticulate founds in writing; but, perhaps, one may make nearer approaches to it, than one can to the gutturo- palatial founds o f the Hottentot language. At eleven o’clock came the fame, or elfe fome other hippopotamus, and in like manner viiited the pofts we occupied,.; he-did not, however, dare to come up, though to our extreme mortification we heard him come and nibble the boughs which hung over the furface of the water, as well as a little grafs and a few low lhrubs which grew here and there on the infide o f the river’s banks. We were, howeyer, in hopes, that this way of living would not long fuffice .animals, one of which only required almoft a larger portion than a whole team o f oxen. Thus far at leaft is certain, that if one ihould calculate the confump- tion of provifions made by a fea-cow, from the fize of its fauces, and from that o f its body and of its belly, which hangs almoft down to the ground, together with the quantity of grafs which I have at different times obferved to have been confumed by one of thefe animals in fppts, whither it has come over night to graze, the amount would appear almoft incredible. -On the 27th day, we met with the misfortune o f one of our Hottentots having heedlefsly hit the muzzle of his gun againft a rock, fo that it went off and ihot him through jtfie foot, at the fame time wounding feveral others in the legs legs with the ihivers of the ball (a compofition of lead and ja'n707a6' tin) which was fplit in pieces againft a rock. As provifions were now fcarce with us, we were obliged in the day-time to ride a good way round about the neighbourhood in fearch of game. Exclufively of our having had an opportunity o f giving chafe, en pajfant, though without fuccefs, to a lion and a hycena, we had the good luck to catch a young wood- pig, and to fhoot a hart-beeft; but our Hottentots going only two hours afterwards to fetch off the fleih of the latter, the eagles had already confumed the major part of if. In the afternoon it thundered, and we paffed the following night at the fame pofts as we occupied on the night preceding, the. fea-cows ailing much in the fame manner as before. On the 28 th, after fun-riie, juft as we were thinking of going from our pofts home to our waggons, there comes a. female hippopotamus with, her calf, from fome other pit or river, to take up her quarters in that which we were then blockading. While ftxe was waiting at a rather fteep part of the river’s banks, and looking back after her calf, which was lame, and confequently came on but ilowly, fhe received a ihot in her fide, upon which ihe direitly plunged into the river, but was not mortally wounded 7 for F l i p ,, the drowfieft of all fublunary. beings, who had ftiot her, and that inftant could hardly be awakened by two Hottentots, was ftill half alleep when he fired his piece ; and happy was it for him, that the enormous beaft did not make towards his hiding, or rather fieeping-place^ and fend him into the other world to fteep for ever. In the mean while his ihot was fo far of fervice, that one o f my
27f 72-2
To see the actual publication please follow the link above