Alpena argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1893-1909, 1894-02-14


history.
Our subject soon got a little cool
er, and giving roar, bent his head
round as he seized the shank of the
iron between his teeth. With one
jerk, he drew it out of his bleeding
quarter, and shaking it savagely,
sank down to the bottom. The
water was here but about two fathoms
deep, and we could see the direction
in which he was travelling along
by line of blood, as we'll as by the
air bubble. which rose to the sur
face as he breathed.
Give me another iron, Charley;
and we'll not give him a chance to
pull it out next time"
The iron was handed up, and we
slowly sailed in the direction which
our prize was following along the
bottom.
Here's two or three of them
astern of US, said the boat-steerer.
Just then two more rose, one on
either side of the boat, in rather I'M
pleasant proximity, and before we
had begun to realize our situation,
the wounded beast, unable any long
err to stay beneath the surface, came
up to breathe just ahead of us.
Pull ahead little. Lay the
boat around, so-now stern allw
and the iron was planted deep in
the neck of our victim.
With a roar louder than a dozen
of the wild bulls of Madagascar, the
hippopotamus made for the boat.
Back water!-back water, say !!
Take down this boat-sail, and stern
all-stern all, for your lives!" as
two more appeared by the bows,
evidently prepared to assist their
comrade.
He was making the water fly in
all directions, and, having failed to
reach the boat, was now vainly
essaying to grasp the iron.
"Stick out line till we get clear
of the school, and then we'll pull
up on the other side of this fellow,
and I'll soon settle him with a
lancet
This was done; and as we again
hauled upon the still furious beast,
the mate poised his bright lance for
a moment, then sent it deep into
his heart.
With tremendous roar and a
desperate final struggle of scarcely
a minutes duration, our prize gave
up the ghost, and, after sinking
momentarily, rose again to the sur
face, lying upon his side, just as the
whale does when he dies.
On getting it ashore, we found
our prize to be a few inches less
than fifteen feet long, from his
head to the commencement of his
short, hairless tail. We could not
measure his girth, but his bulk was
enormous. His legs were dispro-
portionately short, giving him, con-
jointly with his short neck and very
large head, an awkward, stolid ap-
pearance, which the agility he dis
played in the water by no means
justified.
We had not been long on shore,
when several natives made their ap-
pearance. They testified much Joy
at the sight of our prize, and went
through the most lively pantomime,
from which we gathered that the
beasts were a great plague to them,
that the meat was good to eat, and
that they would like a portion.
The hint was not lost upon US, who
had not tasted fresh beef for two
months.
"What say you, boys; will you
try piece of hippopotamus steakp"
proposed the mate; and as no one
dissented, we got the axes, and after
considerable chopping and hacking
got off the head, when we were en-
abled to cut ourselves about twenty
five pounds of what appeared to be
tender meat off the animals fore
quarter.
Our steaks were cooked for sup
per, and whether it was that we
were blessed with an unusually good
appetite, or that the meat was
actually well favored, certain it is
that they tasted delicious, and that
4