{"id":183,"date":"2025-08-18T20:14:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T19:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/word\/?p=183"},"modified":"2025-08-18T20:14:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T19:14:11","slug":"he-little-knew-his-enemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/he-little-knew-his-enemy\/","title":{"rendered":"He little knew his enemy"},"content":{"rendered":"

He little knew his enemy. They were not the men to fear a pair of gaping jaws, armed with a deadly array of tusks; but half a dozen lances were hurled at him, some entering his mouth from a distance of five or six paces. At the same time several men threw handfuls of sand into his enormous eyes. This baffled him more than the lances; he crunched the shafts between his powerful jaws like straws, but he was beaten by the sand, and, shaking his huge head, he retreated to the river. During his sally upon the shore two of the hunters had secured the ropes of the harpoons that had been fastened in his body just before his charge. He was now fixed by three of these deadly instruments; but suddenly one rope gave way, having been bitten through by the enraged beast, who was still beneath the water. Immediately after this he appeared on the surface, and, without a moment’s hesitation, he once more charged furiously from the water straight at the hunters, with his huge mouth open to such an extent that he could have accommodated two inside passengers. Suleiman was wild with delight, and springing forward lance in hand, he drove it against the head of the formidable animal, but without effect. At the same time Abou Do met the hippo sword in hand, reminding me of Perseus slaying the sea-monster that would devour Andromeda; but the sword made a harmless gash, and the lance, already blunted against the rocks, refused to penetrate the tough hide. Once more handfuls of sand were pelted upon his face, and, again repulsed by this blinding attack, he was forced to retire to his deep hole and wash it from his eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He little knew his enemy. They were not the men to fear a pair of gaping jaws, armed with a deadly array of tusks; but half a dozen lances were hurled at him, some entering his mouth from a distance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[4],"yoast_head":"\nHe little knew his enemy - Samuel White Baker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/he-little-knew-his-enemy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"He little knew his enemy - Samuel White Baker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He little knew his enemy. 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Thus cleverly made sure, we quickly brought a strain upon the hippo, and, although I have had some experience in handling big fish, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":184,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/six-times-during-the-fight-the-valiant-bull-hippo-quitted-his-watery-fortress-and-charged-resolutely-at-his-pursuers\/","url_meta":{"origin":183,"position":1},"title":"Six times during the fight the valiant bull hippo quitted his watery fortress and charged resolutely at his pursuers","date":"April 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Six times during the fight the valiant bull hippo quitted his watery fortress and charged resolutely at his pursuers. He had broken several of their lances in his jaws, other lances had been hurled, and, falling upon the rocks, they were blunted and would not penetrate. The fight had continued\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":275,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/it-was-in-vain-that-they-fought-every-bullet-aimed-at-a-latooka-struck-a-rock-behind-which-the-enemy-was-hidden\/","url_meta":{"origin":183,"position":2},"title":"It was in vain that they fought; every bullet aimed at a Latooka struck a rock, behind which the enemy was hidden","date":"September 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It was in vain that they fought; every bullet aimed at a Latooka struck a rock, behind which the enemy was hidden. Rocks, stones, and lances were hurled at them from all sides and from above. They were forced to retreat. 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