Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-06-16
close at one side, tiof lii the


made of spring steel, and hurled both
men, screaming In pain and horror,
directly in front of the lurking hippos.
Before aid could reach the unfortu-
mates from the camp the hippos drag
ged them, broken and torn, Beneath
the turbid waters, to stamp their
bodies deep into the slime and mud.
Night, in fact, ,ers invariably time Of
action in the neighborhood Of hippo
wallowing place, and native hunters
effect many killings and captures after
dark by the crude means they employ,
though personal conflict with so i'm
posing a foe is naturally avosdedh
the blackness that obscures his b4dy
One Of these native hippo Staying
agencies consists OF weighted spear
often tipped with poison. which is sus-
pended over q tree branch near the
animals tracks. The suspending cord
Is attached to stakes fixed on either
side OF the tracks. The animal coming
along strikes the cord, and the stakes
are uprooted, thus releasing the spear,
which strikes deeply into the body or
head of the hippo. This method is also
used at times in, the staying Of ele-
plants. Pitfalls, after the fashion, In
India, are also used to secure hippos
and rhinoceroses.
Through long, dark tunnels forced
from the stream banks through reeds
and brush the hippos make their way
to the l&nd vegetation, free from OBJ
seryation, and In these grewsome look
ing passageways the females frequent
Iy retreat with their young to escape
dangeF. =.
The female hippos uttef loud snorts
and grunts when moving about fear
some noises that can be heard a mile
OF. though most OF the day they re-
main practically quiet, sleeping and
yawning the time away on the waters
surface Outstanding stupidity In herds
en someHsnnny sand spit, with thei'
leads resting on one another's backs
because OF the excessive weight Of
these hideous frontal "adornments.'
Thus the hom!ly Of bearing one an
others burdeus Is not unknown to
fenizens OF jungle and morass:
'Fhe same caution necessary In ele-
Dhant hunting, as regards getting to
vindward of tie animal, is required
In tracking hippos. While the elephant
can detect the presence OF human
being many hundreds Of yards away
merely by his scent, II, is doubtful II
this scent. is 80 keenly developed In
the hippo. There Is ppe advantage
held by hippo pursuers which vet
Grams do not fail to put to good use
when necessary. ] refer to the low
ness Of his eyes. which makes It diff
cult to see objects at any appreciahle
height. Consequently persons chased
by one Of them sometimes escape by
climbing a tree and taking carefully
aimed shot at him as he goes lumber
ing by. Owing to this same peculiar
ity hippes viii pass by a man perched
on an ant hill or hummock but a few
yards away without seeing him If the
person keeps still.
Keen observers have noted various
peculiar propensities of hippos. among
them the tendency among males to
neglect their offspring. Bulls have
frequently been seen to attack and
maltreat their young. Then. too. they
are habitual fighters among themselves
at night and O wounded hippo, wheth-
er injured by fellow snorter or
bullet, is often attacked and abused by
the other members Of the herd.
Following is an extract from a fa-
nous African hunters account of an
East AfricaAo native hippo chase, which
Illustrates the favorite method adopt
ed by jungle Inhabitants. whose in
genuity must remain unquestioned:
1--WE accompanied the natives on
board Of a huge raft made of reeds
and logs and fioated down the river r>on
q moonlit night. The natives had
ropes. and at the rear OF the raft Ca
noes were kept in readiness.
"Soon a sound OF waters cleaved by
heavy bodies mingled with deep snorts
came to our ears. We swept around a
bend and were In the midst of herd
of hippopotamuses. At least dozen OF
them there seemed to be disporting In
the water, some spouting through their
nostrils and yet others rolling in the
mud and ooze. Just then the raft ran
sheer against a huge beast, and q ma
tive poised his huge harpoon In his
hand and drove 1t with all his force
into the monsters back.
1.-THE stricken beast, with cry that
scattered the remainder of the herd.
dived like a stone for. the bottom. In
q moment he was going downstream
at rate that soon used up the line on
the harpoon, and 1t was Jerked out of
the huntsman's hand, leaving the buoy
attached to tell the course Of his flight.
Two Of the natives launched and
jumped into the canoe, i with them,
and a few minutes OF vigorous pad
| ding enabled us to recover the buoy
| The beast was still travelling too fast
| for us to haul In much line, but soon
he slackened, and we knew he was
| coming up to breathe. Then the ma
| tives hanled on the line with frantic
| energy, proDei the canoe by this
means alone, SO that when his head
emerged we were not far distant. AS
soon as he appeared the natives
launched couple of spears into his
hide. Down he went like a bolt. Still
he pursued his course downstream
and we followed him to repeat the
same tactics over. Every time he rose
he was wounded afresh, and crimson
stain ON the water marked his course
as well as the buoy. His rushes NOW
! became feebler, and we knew that th
hattie was nearly over Once more h,