1066 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



rhinoceros on horseback, and of hamstringing it by a dexterous stroke of a long 

 two-handed sword. This sport, according to Sir S. Baker, tries the speed of the 

 best horses, and that writer's account of the chase of a couple of these animals, 

 which, after running more than two miles, defied further pursuit by escaping into 

 thick cover, is probably known to many of our readers. An Arab hunter explained 

 to Sir S. Baker, that at all times the rhinoceros was the most difficult animal to 

 sabre, on account of his extraordinary swiftness, and, although he had killed many 

 with the sword, it was always after a long and fatiguing hunt, at the close of which 

 the animal becoming tired generally turned at bay, in which case one hunter occu- 

 pied his attention, while another galloped up behind and severed the hamstring. 

 The rhinoceros, unlike the elephant, can go very well upon three legs, which 

 enhances the danger, as one cut will not disable him. A less sporting method 

 adopted by the Arabs of the same regions is to dig a hole about two feet deep by 

 fifteen inches in diameter in the animal's run, and to place in the centre a rather 

 elaborately-constructed snare, to which is attached a rope with a heavy log of wood 

 at the other end. When the rhinoceros steps on the pit, one of its feet is caught in 

 the running noose. When caught, the first effort of the rhinoceros is to escape, and he 

 forthwith pulls the log from the trench in which it was buried. " This log," writes 

 Sir S. Baker, " acts as a drag, and, by catching in the jungle and the protruding 

 roots of trees, it quickly fatigues him. On the following morning the hunters 

 discover the rhinoceros by the track of the log that has plowed along the ground, 

 and the animal is killed by lances or by the sword. ' ' 



The same writer adds that the hide of a rhinoceros will produce seven shields; 

 these being worth about two dollars each, as simple hide before manufacture. The 

 horn is sold in Abyssinia for about two dollars per pound, for the manufacture of 

 sword hilts, which are much esteemed if of this material. In South Africa the flesh 

 of the common rhinoceros is much appreciated by the natives as food; but as the 

 animal never has any fat, the meat is somewhat dry. 



L,ike other members of the genus, this rhinoceros appears to be long lived even 

 in captivity, a specimen from Nubia, acquired by the Zoological Society of London 

 in 1868, having lived in the menagerie till 1891. 



Extinct Ally ^^ e i mme diate ancestor of this species appears to have been the ex- 

 tinct thick-jawed rhinoceros (R. pachygnathus} , of which a series of 

 finely-preserved remains have been obtained from the well-known fresh-water depos- 

 its of Pikermi, near Attica, belonging to the Pliocene period. 



Burchell's ^ e ^ ar S est f tne g rou P is the square-mouthed, or Burchell's rhi- 



Rhinoceros noceros (R- simus), commonly known as the white rhinoceros, which 

 is now, alas, practically exterminated. In addition to its great size, 

 this species is characterized by its bluntly-truncated muzzle and the absence of a 

 prehensile extremity to the upper lip, as well as by the great proportionate length 

 of the head, which in large specimens is more than a foot longer than in the com- 

 mon species. Moreover, the nostrils form long narrow slits; the eye is placed 

 entirely behind the line of the second horn; and the ear is very long, sharply pointed 

 at the extremity, where it has but a very small tuft of hair, and has its lower por- 

 tion completely closed for some distance, so as to form a tube. The front horn 



