ami could not be transported alive to a
foreign country; but the progress of civilisation has refuted this
erroneous hypothesis, and the harsh, heavy sound of its voice, since
May, 1850, has been familiar to the frequenters of a London park.

According to Michael Boyn, the hippopotamus has been found in the rivers
of China. Marsden has placed them in Sumatra, and others say they exist
in the Indus, but these statements have never been sustained by
well-authenticated facts, and the creature is now believed to be
exclusively a native of Africa.

Monsieur Desmoulins describes two species,--one the _H. Capensis_, or
the hippopotamus of the Cape, and the _H. Senegalensis_ of the Senegal
river.

How the animal obtained its name would be difficult to imagine, since a
quadruped more unlike a horse could hardly exist.

When in the water, the hippopotamus can place its eyes, ears, and nose
on a level with the surface, and thus see, hear, and breathe, with but
little danger of being injured by a shot. It is often ferocious in this
element, where it can handle itself with much ease; but on dry land it
is unwieldy, and, conscious of its awkwardness, it is rather timid and
sometimes cowardly.

These huge creatures are supposed to serve a good purpose by uprooting
and destroying large water-plants that might otherwise obstruct the
current of the stream and hinder the drainage of the surrounding
country.

The hide of the hippopotamus is used by the natives for many purposes.
Although soft when stripped off, it becomes so hard, when thoroughly
dry, that the Africans manufacture spears and shields of it.

Many of the Cape colonists are very fond of what they call "zeekoe
speek," which is a portion of the flesh salted and preserved.

The greatest value which the hippopotamus has, in the eyes of man, is
found in its teeth,--its large canine tusks being the finest ivory
known, and much prized by the dentists. It keeps its colour much
better, and lasts longer than any other used in the manufacture of
artificial teeth.

Tusks of the hippopotamus are sometimes found sixteen inches in length,
and weighing as much as a dozen pounds. Travellers have even affirmed
that some have been seen measuring twenty-six inches in length; but no
specimens of this size have as yet been exhibited in the museums of
Europe.

The hide of a full-grown hippopotamus is thicker than that of the
rhinoceros; otherwise, it very much resembles the latter.