THE RHINOCEROS. 33 



frequented by this animal are not safe during the night 

 from its attacks. It appears to be excited by the glow 

 of a lire, towards which it rushes with fury, overturning 

 every obstacle. It has, indeed, been known to rush 

 with such rapidity upon a military party lodged among 

 the bush covering the banks of the Great Fish River, 

 that before the men could be aroused it had severely in- 

 jured two of them, tossed about and broken several guns, 

 and completely scattered the burning wood, Le Vaillant, 

 in his animated account of a rhinoceros-hunt, describes 

 the enraged and wounded animals as ploughing up the 

 ground with their horns, and throwing a shower of 

 pebbles and stones around them ; and Dr. Smith says 

 that they are sometimes seen to plough up the earth for 

 several paces with the front horn when not enraged, but 

 for what object he could not discover. The native 

 (Bechuana) name of this species is Borili. The fol- 

 lowing is Le Vaillant's narrative: — "In the midst of 

 this immense menagerie, the variety of which kept me 

 in a continual state of enchantment, I was surprised 

 not to find that prodigious number of rhinoceroses which 

 had been mentioned to me by the people of Haripa's 

 horde. 



" One day, however, Klaas, who was always concerned 

 in every matter of importance, and the first to commu- 

 nicate agreeable intelligence, came in great haste to my 

 tent to inform me that he had observed at some distance 

 from ray camp two of these animals standing quietly 

 close to each other in the middle of the plain, and that 

 I had it in my power to enjoy the pleasure of the finest 

 hunt I had ever yet experienced. 



*' The hunt indeed promised to be amusing, but, in- 

 dependently of danger, I foresaw that it was likely to be 

 attended with difficulties. To attack two such formidable 

 enemies it was necessary to use great precaution, and 

 that we should approach them in such a manner as that 

 they might neither see nor smell us, which is always very 

 difficult. I at first proposed to form a ring which should 

 surround them on all sides, and to advance upon them, 

 gradually contracting the circle, so as to unite the moment 



