The Hippopotamus is also captured by means of pitfalls placed in the animal’s tracks. The mouth of the pit is carefully concealed by means of boughs of trees, grass, rushes, &c. Usually two and sometimes three of these pits are dug in close proximity to each other, the extreme wariness of the Hippopotamus causing it to be suspicious of danger, and whilst carefully avoiding one trap it falls into another.
Sometimes these pits catch a very different kind of animal from that for which they were intended. A good story is told in a book of African travels of a Frenchman who had the misfortune to fall into one, and after spending the whole of the morning in getting out, whilst congratulating himself on his success, and brushing off the mud, he tumbled into another close by, from which he did not escape until late in the evening.
The Hippopotamus has been considered by travellers and naturalists to be of a mild and inoffensive disposition, retiring and shy in its habits, and unless provoked rarely attacking man. Probably this to a great extent is true of the animal, but numerous instances are recorded of most ferocious and quite unprovoked attacks, and when this is the case few animals are capable of showing such blind rage.
Canoes are sometimes overturned and crunched between the jaws of this powerful animal without any apparent reason, and even on dry land it occasionally attacks man. Sir S. Baker relates an account of a bull Hippopotamus attacking the proprietor of a melon-garden, and killing him by one crunch of his huge jaws; and Dr. Moffat, the father-in-law of Livingstone, speaks of a man being literally bitten in half by one which chased him on dry land. The Hippopotamus does not seem at all particular as to the size or nature of the objects it assaults, several instances having been recorded of its charging steamers. Sir S. Baker gives the following account of one of these onslaughts on the Bahir Giraffe:—“At one p.m., as we were steaming easily, I happened to be asleep on the poop-deck, when I was awakened by a shock, succeeded by the cry, ‘The ship’s sinking!’ A Hippopotamus had charged the steamer from the bottom, and had smashed several floats off her starboard paddle. A few seconds later he charged our diahbeeah, and striking her bottom about ten feet from the bow, he cut two holes through the iron plates with his tusks. On examination two clean holes were found punched through the iron as though driven by a sharp pickaxe.”
Another attack of this kind is also related by Sir S. Baker in a lake communicating with the White Nile, which for ferocity and pertinacity is probably unequalled. He says:—“The night was cold, and the moon clear and bright. Every one was wrapped up in warm blankets, and I was so sound asleep that I cannot describe more, until I was suddenly awoke by a tremendous splashing quite close to the diahbeeah, accompanied by the hoarse wild snorting of a furious Hippopotamus. I jumped up, and immediately perceived a Hippo, which was apparently about to attack the vessel. The main deck being crowded with people sleeping beneath their thick Mosquito-curtains, attached to the stairs of the poop-deck, and to the rigging in all directions, rendered it impossible to descend. I at once tore away some of the ties, and awakened the sleeping people. My servant, Suleiman, was sleeping next to the cabin door. I called to him for a rifle. Before the affrighted Suleiman could bring the rifle the Hippopotamus dashed at us with indescribable fury. With one blow he capsized and sank the zinc boat with its cargo of flesh. In another instant he seized the dingy in his immense jaws, and the crash of splintered wood betokened the complete destruction of my favourite boat. By this time Suleiman appeared from the cabin with an unloaded gun in his hand, and without ammunition. This was a very good man, but he was never overburdened with presence of mind; he was shaking so fearfully with nervousness, that his senses had entirely forsaken him. All the people were shouting and endeavouring to scare the Hippo, which attacked us without ceasing, with a blind fury that I have never witnessed in any animal except a Bulldog.
“By this time I had procured a rifle from the cabin, where they were always kept fixed in a row, loaded and ready for action, with bags of breech-loading ammunition on the same shelf. The movements of the animal were so rapid, as he charged and plunged alternately beneath the water in a cloud of foam and wave, that it was impossible to aim correctly at the small but fatal spot upon the head.
“The moon was extremely bright, and presently, as he charged straight at the diahbeeah, I stopped him with a No. 8 Reilly shell. To my surprise, he soon recovered, and again commenced the attack. I fired shot after shot at him without apparent effect.
“The diahbeeah rocked upon the waves raised by the efforts of so large an animal; this movement rendered the aim uncertain. At length, apparently badly wounded, he retired to the high grass; there he lay by the bank, at about twenty-five yards’ distance, snorting and blowing. I could not distinguish him, as merely the head was above water, and this was concealed by the deep shadow thrown by the high grass. Thinking he would die, I went to bed; but before this, I took the precaution to arrange a white paper sight upon the muzzle of my rifle, without which night shooting is very uncertain. We had fallen asleep; but in about half an hour we were awoke by another tremendous splash, and once more this huge 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. Ultimately he was killed, and on making a post-mortem the following morning, I found he had received three shots in the flank and shoulder, four in the head, one of which had broken his lower jaw, and another had passed through his nose, and passing downward, had cut off one of his large tusks.”