The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1875-01-07

And storm her tswers with might and main,
Anc give her frowns the steady look
Ofconscious truth, and victory
10ul be sure to gain!
FIGHT WITH A HIPPoPorAMUs.
A tragical incident occurred not
long after the establishment of the
camp. There was an old blind sheik
who frequently crossed the river to
visit the newcomers. One, day he
was returning with his son, when the
canoe was charged by an angry hip
popotamus. Selling the frail bark at
the end where the sheik was sitting,
the monster crunched it to fragments
between his ponderous jaws, and SO
crushed and lacerated the poor old
man that, although rescued by his
comrades, who hastened to his assist
ance, he died during the night. The
hippopotamuses were often the source
Of great annoyance, and sometimes OF
danger, to the expedition. One beau
tiful moonlight night, when the fotil-
la was quietly at anchor in a lake
close to the White Nile, one of these
monsters made most determined at
tack upon the diahbeeah belonging to
Sir Samuel. The vessel was close to
mud band covered with high grass,
and about thirty yards astern of her
was shallow part of the lake, about Z
three feet deep. A light boat of zinc
was full of strips Of hippopotamus
flesh, and the dingy was fastened
alongside. Every one was soundly.
sleeping, when, says Sir Samuel, I-
was suddenly awakened by a tremen-
dous splashing close to the diahbeeah,
accompanied by the hoarse wild snort
ing Of furious hippopotamus. I
jumped up, and Immediately perceiv-
ed hippo, which was apparently
about to attack the vessel. My ser
| want, Suleiman, was sleeping next to
the cabin door. I called to him for
a rifle. Before the afnghted suleiman
could bring it, the hippopotamus
dashed at us with indescribable fury.
With one blow be capsized and sank
the zinc boat, with its cargo of flesh.
In another instant he seized the dingy
i'll his immense jaws, and the crash OF
splintered wood betokened the COM
plete destruction of my favorite boat
By this time 1 had procured a rife
from the cabin, where they were al
ways kept fixed in row, loaded and
ready for action, with bags of breech-
loading ammunition on the same shelf.
The movements of the animal were so
rapid as he charged and plunged al
tenately beneath the water in cloud
of foam and wave, that it was impos-
sible to aim correctly at the small but
fatal spot upon the head. The moon
was extremely bright, and presently,
as he charged straight at the diah-
beeah, I stopped him with a No. 8
Reilly shell. To my surprise, he soon
recovered, and again commenced the
attack. I fired shot after shot at him
without apparent effect. The diah-
beeah rocked about upon the waves
raised by the efforts of SO large an
animal. This movement rendered
the aim uncertain. At length, ap-
parently badly wounded, he retired to
the high grass. There he lay by the
bank, at about twenty-five yards dis
tance, snorting and blowing" --,-.
Thinking the creature must be dy-
ing, Sir Samuel went to bed, but in
about half an hour was awakened
again by another furious charge. A"
rife-ball in the head rolled the mon
ster over, and he foated helplessly
down stream This time he surely
must be dead. To the amazement Of
all, he presently recovered, and only
gave up after receiving several bullets
in his body. On the following morn
ing post-mortem examination show
ed that he had received three shots in
the flank and shoulder; four in the
head, one of which had brokens@his
lower jaw; another had passed
through his nose, and passing down
ward, had cut off one, Of his large
tusks. Such determined and unpro-
voked fury as was exhibited by this
animal had never been witnessed-he
appeared to be raying mad. His body
was a mass of frightful scars, the re-
suit of continual conflicts with bulls
of his own Species. some of these
wounds were still unhealed. There
was one scar about two feet in length,
and about two inches below the level
of the surface skin, upon the flank.
He was evidently.a character Of the
| worst description, but whose madness
rendered him callous to all punish
ment. The attack upon the vessels
was probably induced by the smell
. Of raw hiippopo flesh, which was
hung in long strips about the rigging,
and with which the zinc beat was
| filed: The dead 'hippopo potamus that
was floating astern. dashed to the diah-
Ebeeah had not been molested From,
/ q Ismai1ia, IN .Hqspers Magasine for
january, 8 S.
The latest parlor gaIne iittttings
aulp. Z: takes txo. to play q i g