38 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF MAMMALIA. 



he instantly fell, and was never after able to rise. I 

 beheld his fall with the ntmost satisfaction : as a hunter 

 and a naturalist it afforded me a double triumph. 



" Though mortally wounded, the animal still continued 

 to defend himself when lying on the ground as he had 

 done when on his legs ; with his feet he threw around 

 him heaps of stones, and neither we nor our dogs durst 

 venture to approach him. 



" I wished to put an end to his torment by firing one 

 more ball, and was making preparations for the purpose, 

 when my people entreated me to desist. As I could 

 not ascribe their request to pity, I was at a loss to con- 

 ceive what could be their motive. I have already said 

 that all the savage tribes, and even the people at the 

 Cape and in the colonies, set a high value on the dried 

 blood of the rhinoceros, to which they ascribe great 



virtues The animal had lost a great deal by his 



wounds. It was with much regret that they saw the 

 earth moistened with it around him, and they were 

 apprehensive that a new wound would increase that loss. 



" Scarcely had the animal breathed his last, when 

 both old and new Hottentots all approached with eager- 

 ness in order to collect the blood. With that view they 

 cut open its belly, and took out the bladder, which they 

 emptied. One of them then applied the mouth of it to 

 one of the wounds, while the rest shook a leg of the 

 animal to make the blood flow more readily. In a little 

 time, to their great joy, the bladder was filled, and I am 

 persuaded that with what was lost they might have filled 

 twenty. 



" I had approached the body also, but with a different 

 design ; for my intention was only to measure and ex- 

 amine it. 



" The savages of the horde, accustomed to see such 

 animals very often, assured me that it was one of the 

 largest of its species. 



" I however did not believe them, and what induced 

 me to doubt their information was, that its principal 

 horn Mas only (in French measure) nineteen inches 

 three lines in length, and I had seen horns much longer, 



