The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-07

crocodile close at one side, nor in til,
dim light did they observe the eye:
and nose Of two hippos peeping above
the water edge three or four yards ou1
from the bank. Suddenly the croco
ollie gave a powerful sweep with hi.
formidable tail, as resistless as though
made of spring steel, and hurled bott
men, screaming in pain and horror
directly in front Of the lurking hippos
Before aid could reach the unfortu
~ates from the camp the hippos drag
ged them, broken and torn, beneath
the turbid waters, to stamp theil
bodies deep into the slime and mud.
Night, in fact. is invariably a time OF
action in the neighborhood Of a hippo
wallowing place, and native hunters
effect many killings and captures after
dark by the crude means they employ,
though personal conflict with 80 i'm
posing a foe is naturally avoided In
the blackness that obscures his body.
One Of these native hippo Staying
agencies consists Of a weighted spear,
often tipped with poison, which is sus.
pended W a 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 land vegetation, free from OBJ
servation, and in these grewsome look.
ing passageways the females frequent
~ retreat with their young to escape
danger.
The female hippos utter 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 or standing stupidity in herds
on some sunny sand spit, with their
heads resting on one another's backs
because of the excessive weight Of
these hideous frontal "adornments."
Thus the homily Of bearing one an
others burdens is not unknown to
denizens Of jungle and morass
The same caution necessary in ele-
plant hunting, as regards getting to
windward Of the animal, is required
in tracking hippos. While the elephant
can detect the presence Of a human
being many hundreds Of yards away
merely by his scent, it is doubtful if
this scent is so keenly developed in
the hippo. There is one advantage
held by hippo pursuers which vet
Grams do not fail to put to good use
when necessary. 1 refer to the low
ness Of his eyes, which makes it diff
cult to see objects at any appreciable
height. Consequently persons chased
by n of them sometimes escape by
climbing a tree and taking a carefully
aimed shot at him as he goes lumber
ing by. Owing to this same peculiar
ity hippos will pass by a man perched
on an ant hill or a 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
fpon11onf1v hnO,o cno, +o o%foo1- o,3
maltreat their young. Then, too, they
are habitual fighters among themselves
at night, and a wounded hippo, wheth-
er injured by a fellow shorter or a
bullet, is often attacked and abused by
the other members Of the herd.
Following is an extract from a IA
African hunters account of an
East African native hippo chase, which
illustrates the favorite method adopt
ed by jungle inhabitants, whose in
genuity must remain unquestioned:
eve accompanied the natives on
board of a huge raft made Of reeds
and logs and foated down the river on
a moonlit night. The natives had
spears or harpoons attached to long
ropes, n at the rear OF the raft ca
noes We're kept in readiness.
"Soon a sound Of waters cleaved by
heavy bodies mingled with deep snorts
came to u ears. We swept around a
bend and were in the midst Of a herd
Of hippopotamuses. At least a 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 a ma
tive poised his huge harpoon in his
hand and drove it with all his force
into the monsters back.
"The stricken beast, with a cry that
scattered the remainder Of the herd,
dived like O stone for the bottom. In
a moment he was going downstream
at a rate that oon used up the line on
the harpoon, and 1t was jerked out Of
the huntsman's hand. leaving the hnov