Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Slave trade -- Africa
We had fallen asleep; but in about half an hour we were awoke by another
tremendous splash, and once more this mad beast came charging directly
at us as though unhurt. In another instant he was at the diahbeeah; but
I met him with a ball in the top of his head which sent him rolling over
and over, sometimes on his back, kicking with his four legs above the
surface, and again producing waves which rocked the diahbeeah. In this
helpless manner he rolled for about fifty yards down the stream, and we
all thought him killed.
To our amazement he recovered, and we heard him splashing as he moved
slowly along the river through the high grass by the left bank. There he
remained snorting and blowing, and as the light of the moon was of no
service in the dark shadows of the high grass, we waited for a
considerable time and then went to bed, with the rifle placed in
readiness on deck.
In a short time I heard louder splashing. I again got up, and I
perceived him about eighty yards distant, walking slowly across the
river in the shallows. Having a fair shot at the shoulder, I fired right
and left with the No. 8 Reilly rifle, and I distinctly heard the bullets
strike. He nevertheless reached the right bank, when he presently turned
round and attempted to re-cross the shallow. This gave me a good chance
at the shoulder, as his body was entirely exposed. He staggered forward
at the shot, and fell dead in the shallow flat of the river.
He was now past recovery. It was very cold: the thermometer was 54
degrees Fahrenheit, and the blankets were very agreeable, as once more
all hands turned in to sleep.
On the following morning I made a post-mortem examination. He had
received three shots in the flank and shoulder; four in the head, one of
which had broken his lower jaw; another through his nose had passed
downward and cut off one of his large tusks. I never witnessed such
determined and unprovoked fury as was exhibited by this animal--he
appeared to be raving mad. His body was a mass of frightful scars, the
result of continual conflicts with bulls of his own species; some of
these wounds were still unhealed. There was one scar about two feet in
length, and about two inches below the level of the surface skin, upon
the flank. He was evidently a character of the worst description, but
whose madness rendered him callous to all punishment. I can only suppose
that the attack upon the vessels was induced by the smell of the raw
hippopotamus flesh, which was hung in long strips about the rigging, and
with which the zinc boat was filled. The dead hippopotamus that was
floating astern lashed to the diahbeeah had not been molested.
We raised the zinc boat, which was fortunately unhurt. The dingy had
lost a mouthful, as the hippopotamus had bitten out a portion of the
side, including the gunwale of hard wood; he had munched out a piece
like the port of a small vessel, which he had accomplished with the same
ease as though it had been a slice of toast.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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