The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-06-27


DIR. Emil Houeb, in his seven Years in
South Africa says:
After re-embarking we kept close 10 the
shore with the object of avoiding the hippo
potamuses that in the daytime frequent
the middle of the stream, only rising from
time to time to breathe. Whenever the
current made it necessary for us to change
to the opposite side Of the river, l could see
that the boatmen We're all on the qni rire to
get across as quickly as possible, and soon
after learned from experience what good
reason they had to be cautious. We had
occasion to steer outward so rs to clear II
papyrus island, when all ut once the men
began to back water, and the one nearest to
me whispered the word "kubu.' lie was
pointing to 4 spot hardly two hundred yards
ahead, and OF looking | saw first one hip
popotamus head and then a second raised
above the surface of the stream, both puff
fling out little fountains from the n~OstrilS.
They quickly disappeared, and the men
padded on gently till they were tolerably
close to the place where the hrutes had been
seen. Both Blocily and l cooked our guns,
and had not long to wait before the heads
oftwO young hippopotamuse emerged from
beneath the water, followed first by the
mead of the male and hen by the head of
the female. We fired eight shots, of which
there is no doubt that two struck the old
male behind the ear. The mcn all main
tanned that it was mortally wounded, and
probably such was the case but, although
we waited nearly an hour, we never saw
more than the heads Of three Others again.
| 1t was only with reluctance that the men
were induced to be stationary so long; eN-
ccpt they are in very small boats and prop
crly armed Will assegais they are always
ANXIOUS to give the hippopotamus as wide
a berth as they can
Ofall the large mammalia in South Africa,
| am disposed to believe that to an unarm-
ed man the hippopotamus is the most dan
gcrous. In its normal state it can endure
the sight of anything to which it is unac-
cuStOmed, or which takes it by surprise.
Let it come upon n horse, an OK, a porcu-
pine, Il log of wood, or even Il flutterinp
garment suddenly crossing its path, and 1t
will fly upon any Of them with relentless
fury but let such objects be drawn betimes
from view, and the brute in an instant will
forget all about it and go on its way entirely
undisturbed. This popularity may, per
haps, be ph~ysiologically accounted by the
small weight of the brain rs contrasted with
the ponderous size OF the body. Although
in some cases it may happen that an I'M
protected man may elude the attacks of Il
buffalo, a lion, or leopard. except they have
been provoked, he cannot indulge in the
hope of escaping the violence of %hippopo-
tamus that has once got him within reach
gifts power. When out of several hippo
potamuses in II river, one has been wound
ed, the rest are far more wary in coming to
the surface and should the wound be fatal,
the carcass does not rise for an hour, but
drifts down the stream. The Marutse nave
l very simple but effectual way of landing
their dead bodies; n grass rope, with astOne
attached, is thrown across it, and by this
means it is easily guided to the shore, The
whole riverside population is most enthu-
siastic in its loveof hippOpOtamus hunting,
and it is owing to the skill of the Marutse
natives in this pursuit that they have been
brought from their homes in the Upper
Iambezi and established in villages down
here, where they may help to keep the
court well supplied with fresh and dried
fish, but particularly with hippopotamus
flesh.