BOYS' OWN COLUMN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 263, 5 November 1932, Page 2 (Supplement)

BOYS' OWN COLUMN.

A 'HIPPO TAKES A WALK.

THE NATIONAL MASCOT OF SOUTH AFRICA,

Dear Boys,—

It is ..truly -said thqt to gain prominence one must do something different, and that is the secret of Huberta's r|se to fame. For those who have not already heard of Huberta I will explain that she was a hippopotamus which earned for herself the title of "National mascot of South Africa." .

About four years ago this giant animal forsook her swampy homeland and took to hiking. So it was that in 192S the people of New Guelderland, on the southern tip of Africa, were surprised to see a twoton hippo strolling unconcernedly down their mam street. One would expect a wild animal to be enraged by a crowd; not so Huberta, for she made no move to charge the curious people who had come to stare at her. When bored with the attention of the townfolk the hippo simply strolled leisurely away and disappeared into a thicket on the outskirts of the village.

Newspapers were advised of the unusual appearance ofa hippo in the streets, and in a very short time Huberta's story was in print. Reporters held no terror for this hippopotamus, but for cameramen she had a violent dislike. Only by trickery could a Press photographer obtain her picture-

From place to place the hippo wandered, one night appearing in one of the busiest streets of Durban, where she sat for a time with the coloured lights from a chemist's shop throwing strange shadows over her bulky form. Next day newspapers all over the world told of Durban's strange visitor; the fame of Huberta. was established.

When this animal that had aroused so much interest decided to journey through the forests that were occupied by native tribes it was feared that they might do her harm, but: she was made welcome by the wily witch doctor of a tribe whose official rainmaker had died, and whose return the witch doctor had prophesied. He simply spread the news that the rainmaker had come back in the form of a hippopotamus. So it was that no matter where Huberta went her fame preceded her, and for two' years she roamed the highways and byways of Africa in safety. She may have still been making history for herself had not the bullets of white men's rifles brought about her untimely end.

Of course there was a great hue and cry for the slayers of Huberta, for the people of South Africa had come to consider her their own national mascot, and the natives held her in high regard. The Government saw to it that the guilty ones, were caught, and they were fined heavily for the violation of the game laws.

Huberta will live long in the memories of the Africans* and it is said that the native tribes over whose territory she roamed are already weaving legends about her. The hippopotamus is now in the King ' Williamstown Museum, where she must f f N o*^^^' remain as the only specimen known V s !m of a hiking hippopotamus.