Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/32

HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNTING them, killing the rowers. It is never safe to navigate any river where hippos live. Crocodiles and hippo's live in peace together as one is a flesh eater and the other feeds on vegitables, but sometimes the hippos for some reason or other drive the crocodiles away. The upper and lower front teeth of the hippos are very long and contain magnificent ivory which is distinguished from the elephant's by the fact that it never turns yellow. The flesh is good to eat but it is tough and oily, nevertheless many native tribes consider it a great delicacy. The whole hide weighs about six hundred pounds and often more. The african natives make whips out of a single piece of skin, and they are said to last forever.

Sometimes a prowling leopard is foolish enough to risk its life trying to steal a baby hippo. When the thief is successful the distress and fury of the old mother are fearful to behold. She rushes from place to place in a path of destruction looking for her lost one. A hunter once saw a leopard creeping upon a baby hippo and he watched to see what would happen. Waiting for a good chance the leopard sprang upon its prey. The baby hippo screamed ad struggled and the leopard lost its foot hold. Before it could recover itself however the old mother hippo was upon it and crushed the thief between her powerful jaws.

Bull hippos are very quarrelsome among themselves and frequently great battles take place, especially at night. A hunter tells a story of meeting some hippos in a very narrow stream. He fired at a bull and wounded it. There was not enough water for it to dive so it reared its head in the air and bellowed. Blood was soon pouring from its nostrils and at the sight another bull attacked its wounded comrade.

The brute seized the wounded hippo by the throat just as a bull dog does when fighting, and the two swayed back and in a frantic struggle. The bullet had passed close to the brain of the wounded hippo and it soon weakened and finally died. The hunter had climbed out on to the bank for safety and not a moment too soon for his frail canoe was swamped by the waves caused by the struggles of the two giants.

Sometimes when hippos find themselves cornered they get in a panic and all rush in one direction. Nothing stands in the way of such an onslaught, and before now huge crocodiles have been overwhelmed and trampled to death in an instant. Trees and bushes are crushed as if they were so many weeds and the ground round about looks as though a cyclone had swept over it.