Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1891-05-01
THE HlPpOpOTAMUs.
Sir 9. Baker Declares That Its Flesh II
Palatable and Tender.

PAlAtabie and Tender.
Although the hippopotamus may be less
loathsome than the crocodile, Sir s. Baker
writes that there is no animal that he
disliked more than the hippopotamus, if
he WAS compelled to travel at night upon
an African river in an ordinary boat. "
Even without this limitation the hippopot-
anus seems remarkably dangerous. Sir
s. Baker tells how in broad daylight hip
popotamus charged the steamer that was
towing his diahbeeah, and perforated the
iron plates of the vessel in two places with
its projecting tusks so that it made a
dangerous leak.
On another occasion. when the steamer
passed over a hippopotamus that was
walking latter the manner of these beasts
under water along the bed Of the river,
the steamer of 1903 tons gave leap into the
air, as the water was too shallow to permit
the hippopotamus to pass beneath the
keel. What became of the hippopotamus
was not ascertained.
On another occasion bull hippopotamus
charged the diah beeah in the middle of
the night and sank small boat that was
fastened alonside by biting a large piece
out of it. mot satisfied with this success,
it then charged the iron vessel, and would
assuredly have sunk her if had not stop
ped the onset by a shot in the skull with a
No. rifle" Sir S. Baker calls the animal
stupidity ferocious" when it is in the
water, though it is comparatively timorous
on land On one occasion he saw a man in
boat wantonly attacked and killed by a
hippopotamus.
The Hamran Arabs and some of the
tribes attack the hippopotamus with their
| harpoons, and when the beast has been
thus securely hooked they drag it on shore
and slay it with their spears, while they
| half blind it by throwing sand into its eyes
But the hippopotamus sometimes gets the
better of them and escapes. Sir 5. Baker
states curious fact concerning a com
mercial change that has affected the hip
popotamus. Formerly its tusks, or larg,
prominent teeth, were in great request 10y
dentists to make artificial teeth They
were superior to ivory in the permanent,
of their color, and they never turned vel
low. But the American invention of por
celain enamel for artificial teeth has de
stroyed the value of the hippopotamus'
tusks, and they are now cheaper thai
ivory
Some people may have wondered 70
what good purISse such an ungainly ant
seemingly useless beast as the hippopota
! mus was created Sir S. Baker writes tina
"a young calf hippopotamus is deliciou
eating. The feet when stewed are far su
/, perior to those of any other animal, an
! the skin makes excellent turtle soup. Tn
flesh of the animal is always palatable, an
= although the meat of an old bull is toug
e it can be successfully treated by poundin
and beating it on fiat stone until til
Q fiber is totally destroyed. If it is the
:, mixed with chopped onions, pepper an
: salt and wild thyme it will form eth,
a rissoles or cotelettes de veau by pleasin
i transformation" What pity it is thu
> Sir S. Baker was not at hand to act as COG
d when DR.. auckland, the dean of Westmi
X ster, unfortunately made the archbishC
"a of Canterbury seriously ill by inducir
" him to partake Of plain roast hippopot
- musl-Longman's Magazine.