No Wonder That Hearts Become
Stony In This Country!
Jan. 15th.-We were towing through high reeds this morning, the men
invisible, and the rope mowing over the high tops of the grass, when the
noise disturbed a hippopotamus from his slumber, and he was immediately
perceived close to the boat.
He was about half grown, and in an instant
about twenty men jumped into the water in search of him, thinking him a
mere baby; but as he suddenly appeared, and was about three times as
large as they had expected, they were not very eager to close. However,
the reis Diabb pluckily led the way and seized him by the hind leg, when
the crowd of men rushed in, and we had a grand tussle. Ropes were thrown
from the vessel, and nooses were quickly slipped over his head, but he
had the best of the struggle and was dragging the people into the open
river; I was therefore obliged to end the sport by putting a ball
through his head. He was scored all over by the tusks of some other
hippopotamus that had been bullying him. The men declared that his
father had thus misused him; others were of opinion that it was his
mother; and the argument ran high, and became hot.
These Arabs have an extraordinary taste for arguments upon the most
trifling points. I have frequently known my men argue throughout the
greater part of the night, and recommence the same argument on the
following morning.
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