374 DESCKIPTION OF RHINOCEROS. 



"white," on the other hand, is of a comparatively mild dis- 

 position, and, unless in defense of its young, or when hotly 

 pursued, or wounded, will rarely attack a man. 



The body of the rhinoceros is long and thick ; its belly is 

 large, and hangs near the ground ; its legs are short, round, 

 and very strong ; and its hoofs are divided into three parts, 

 each pointing forward. The head, wkich is remarkably 

 formed, is large ; the ears are long and erect ; its eyes small 

 and sunk. The horns, which are composed of a mass of fine 

 longitudinal threads or laminas, forming a beautifully hard 

 and solid substance, are not affixed to the skull, but merely 

 attached to the skin, resting, however, in some degree, on a 

 bony protuberance above the nostrils. It is believed by many 

 that, when the animal is at rest, the horns are soft and pli- 

 able, but that, when on the move, they at once become hard 

 and solid. Moreover, that it can, at will, turn the posterior 

 horn, the other horn meanwhile remaining firm and erect ; 

 but there can scarcely be sufficient foundation for such no- 

 tions. 



In size the African rhinoceros — the white species, at least 

 — is only exceeded by the elephant. A full-grown male {H,. 

 simus) measures from the snout to the extremity of the tail 

 (which is about two feet) between fourteen and sixteen feet, 

 with a circumference of ten or twelve. To judge from these 

 data, and the general bulkiness of the body, it can not weigh 

 less than from four to five thousand pounds. In our " bush- 

 cuisine" we reckoned one of these animals equal to three 

 good-sized oxen. 



The general appearance of the African rhinoceros is not 

 unlike that of an immense hog shorn of his hair, or, rather, 

 bristles, for, with the exception of a tuft at the extremity of 

 the ears and the tail, it has no hair whatever ; and, as if in 

 mockery of its giant foim, its eyes are ludicrously small — so 

 small, indeed, that at a short distance they are impercepti- 

 ble. Altogether, what with its huge body, misshapen head, 



