imba and Moto, rolling their cloths
tight around their hips and loins, nodded their approval of what Kalulu
had said.

Having done what the sage young chief had advised, Selim and Abdullah
accompanied _him_ to the canoe; Simba and Moto took their paddles in
their hands, while the two warriors, who were famous for their
harpooning, prepared the instrument which they intended to drive into
the first animal nearest to them.

This instrument was similar in shape to the harpoons which whalers use
for destroying the whales, except that it was not half as neat or sharp.
It had a long, heavy staff, and had once been used to pound corn into
flour by some woman, as was evident by its close grain and polish,
showing that it was hard and heavy, and had been of frequent use. To
its pointed end was a broad, heavy, and barbed spear, well sharpened and
polished, around the handle of which was fastened the end of a long
rope, of native manufacture, made of the bark of the baobab tree.

While the harpooneers were quietly preparing themselves, Kalulu pointed
the two Arab boys through a thin edge of cane which hid the boat from
the approaching animals, as they came up slowly and unsuspectingly
abreast of the place where they lay.

What magnificent beasts they were! What splendid and powerful necks
they had! The best prize-bull ever fattened on English grass might have
been ashamed of his breadth of neck had such as these been exhibited
side by side with him. Unaware of the danger that lay in wait for them,
they came up to breathe quickly and boldly, and by so doing exposed
nearly all their heads and necks. On the backs of their powerful necks
the colour was that of a bright reddish yellow, which also tinged their
heads over the eyes and the ears, and broad patches of this colour were
also seen on the cheeks. In appearance the head bore a striking
similarity to the head of a large and powerful horse; especially did the
bold and prominent eyes, the short pointed ears, and noble curve of neck
aid the comparison; but at the nose it was more like that of an ox.

The name of this enormous and apparently unwieldy animal, by which he is
known to us, is hippopotamus, from the Greek words--hippos, a horse;
potamos, a river. Had the Greek travellers been better acquainted with
the appearance of this animal they might have called it river-cow, or
river-hog. It is only when his head is half-submerged that we can
correctly designate him as