The Hippopotamus.
After the Elephant and Rhinoceros, the next animal in size, is the Hippopotamus, or river horse. It is now found in the central parts of Africa only. It is of a dark ash color, without hair; its tail is short, its ears small, and its look stupid. It is, withal, a ferocious animal, with a very ugly mouth. It lives, during the day, chiefly in rivers and lakes, often remaining for hours, with its nostrils only, above the water. It feeds on coarse vegetables, going to the shore by night, for this purpose. It walks on the bottom, immersed in the river, as well as if it was on dry land.
It has the power of breathing out the air in its lungs, while under water, thus causing a bubbling upon the surface. To this, allusion is made in the book of Job, in describing the Behemoth, which is, no doubt, the hippopotamus. The accuracy of the description is striking: “He lieth,” says the inspired writer, “under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow: the willows of the brook compass him about. Behold he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.”
The hippopotamus is about eleven feet long, but not more than four or five high. His legs are so short that when he walks over soft, ploughed ground, he makes a trench in the earth as if an enormous sack had been drawn along. He is a voracious eater, and his stomach will hold five bushels at once. He makes prodigious havoc among the crops of corn, when he is hungry. His chief food, however, consists of the coarse vegetables of rivers, and his business seems to be that of a river scavenger, to clear streams of exuberant vegetation. It possesses great strength, and is respected by the other beasts, for, not even the crocodile or the lion ever molests him. He is, in fact, lord of the wilds he inhabits.
