a86 17 76-. January. VixwO A V O Y A G E TO THE opinion, and to render K olbe’s teftimony to the contrary •liable to fufpidon. An old experienced huntfman told me, that he had once feen two hippopotamufes copulate, which they did in the fame manner as common cattle. On this occafion the beafts flood in a (hallow part o f the river, where the water reached up to their knees. The fize o f the largeft of the two fea-cows meafured by Z erenghi, was, according to Buffon, Tom. XII. page 31, as follows: The length fixteen feet nine inches, the girt fifteen feet, the height fix feet and a half, the aperture of the mouth two feet four inches wide, and the tuiks were above a foot long, clear o f the fockets. The method of catching the hippopotamus confifts (be- fides ihooting it) in making pits for it in thofe parts which the animal pafies in his way to and from the river ; but this method is peculiar to the Hottentots, and is only pradtifed by them in the rainy feafon, as the ground in fummer is too hard for that purpofe. It is faid that they have never fucceeded in killing this huge aquatic animal with poifoned darts, though this way o f killing game is pradlifed with advantage by the Hottentots for the deftrudtion both of the elephant and rhinoceros. The colonifts, likewife, were not entirely unacquainted with the method mentioned by M. Hasselquist, as being common in Egypt, viz. to ftrew on the ground as many peafe or beans as the animal can poflibly eat, by which means it burfts its belly and dies. But as this method is very expenfive, and they can generally have this animal for a fingle charge o f powder and a tin ball, ihot in a proper direction, they chiefly 8 and and almoft folely have recourfe to this cheaper expe- diertt. The hippopotamus is probably not fo quick in its pace on land as the generality o f the larger quadrupeds, though perhaps it is not fo flow and heavy as M. de Buffon, 1. c. page 39, defcribes it to b e ; as both the Hottentots and colonifts look upon it as dangerous to meet a hippopotamus out of the water, efpecially, as according to report, they had had a recent inftance o f one o f thefe animals, which, from certain circumftances, was fuppofed to be in rut, having, for feveral hours, purfued a Hottentot, who found it very difficult to make his efcape. M. K lockner confirms this- opinion,, by the infertion of a ftory to this purpofe related by one Marais. The people o f this country did not entertain that opinion of the medicinal virtues of the hippopotamus, as they did of certain parts of the elephant and rhinoceros; excepting one colonift, who imagined he had found the os petrofum of this animal, reduced to powder, and taken in the quantity that would lie on the point of a knife, excellent in convulfions, and particularly in the convulfions (Jluyperip of children. That the fleih is reckoned very wholefome food, I have already mentioned. Having already exceeded the limits I had prefcribed to myfelf, I do not intend to dwell here on the anatomy of the hippopotamus we caught, particularly as the internal conformation of the calves is fomewhat different from that o f the adult animal. I ihall, therefore, only briefly mention the following particulars: the ftomachs were four in number, and confequently one more than in the foetus examined 1776. January, W O ji.l1 111 IB
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