Elephant Flesh Is Exceedingly
Strong And Disagreeable, Partaking Highly Of The Peculiar Smell
Of The Animal.
We had now a good supply of meat from the two
hippopotami, which delighted our people.
The old Abou Do claimed
the bull that he had harpooned as his own private property, and
he took the greatest pains in dividing the hide longitudinally,
in strips of the width of three fingers, which he cut with great
dexterity.
Although the hippopotamus is amphibious, he requires a large and
constant supply of air; the lungs are of enormous size, and he
invariably inflates them before diving. From five to eight
minutes is the time that he usually remains under water; he then
comes to the surface, and expends the air within his lungs by
blowing; he again refills the lungs almost instantaneously, and
if frightened, he sinks immediately. In places where they have
become extremely shy from being hunted, or fired at, they seldom
expose the head above the surface, but merely protrude the nose
to breathe through the nostrils; it is then impossible to shoot
them. Their food consists of aquatic plants, and grasses of many
descriptions. Not only do they visit the margin of the river, but
they wander at night to great distances from the water if
attracted by good pasturage, and, although clumsy and ungainly in
appearance, they clamber up steep banks and precipitous ravines
with astonishing power and ease. In places where they are
perfectly undisturbed, they not only enjoy themselves in the
sunshine by basking half asleep upon the surface of the water,
but they lie upon the shore beneath the shady trees, upon the
river's bank; I have seen them, when disturbed by our sudden
arrival during the march, take a leap from a bank about twenty
feet perpendicular depth into the water below, with a splash that
has created waves in the quiet pool, as though a paddle-steamer
had passed by. The Arabs attach no value to the tusks; these are
far more valuable than elephant ivory, and are used by dentists
in Europe for the manufacture of false teeth, for which they are
admirably adapted, as they do not change colour. Not wishing to
destroy the remaining hippopotami that were still within the
pool, I left my men and old Abou Do busily engaged in arranging
the meat, and I walked quietly homeward.
CHAPTER XIV.
A FOREBODING OF EVIL.
I HAD been for some hours in the camp, but none of the aggageers
had returned, neither had we received any tidings of our people
and camels that had left us at daybreak to search for the dead
elephants. Fearing that some mishap might have occurred in a
collision with the Base, I anxiously looked out for some sign of
the party. At about 4 P.M. I observed far up the bed of the river
several men, some mounted, and others upon foot, while one led a
camel with a curious looking load. Upon a nearer approach I could
distinguish some large object upon the camel's back, that was
steadied by two men, one of whom walked on either side.
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