44 RHINOCEROSES 



a white rhinoceros in Mashonaland about forty years ago. These, 

 however, are but exceptions to the rule that, speaking generally, the 

 white rhinoceros was a harmless and inoffensive animal. 



" The individual differences between white rhinoceroses are very 

 great, the front horns of bulls 'measuring from 18 to 40 inches in 

 length, and those of cows from 24 to 60 inches, or even more. As a 

 rule, the front horn curves slightly backwards, but is often straight and 

 sometimes bent slightly forwards, and sometimes strongly curved back- 

 wards. The second horn varies from a mere hump 3 or 4 inches in 

 height to a couple of feet in length. The longest horn known is in 

 the possession of Colonel W. Gordon Gumming, and measures 62^ 

 inches in length over the curve ; it was brought from South Africa by 

 the great hunter Roualeyn Gordon Gumming. The next longest, 

 which is in the British Museum, is also that of a cow, and measures 

 56^ inches over the curve. Another horn brought home by Gordon 

 Gumming measures 5 2^ inches ; it is figured, in company with the 

 record specimen, in the illustration on page 45. In South Africa 

 I have seen two very long horns, one measuring 54 and the other 

 52 inches ; and in 1872 I shot a cow with a horn which was strongly 

 bent backwards, and measured 45 inches over the curve. About the 

 same time three other cows were shot by Griqua hunters close to my 

 camp with horns over 3 feet in length; and in July 1880 one of my 

 waggon-drivers shot a bull of which the front horn measured 37^ 

 inches in length, with a circumference of over 27 inches, and the second 

 horn 17^ inches. The skull and horns are in my own collection. 



" The flesh of the white rhinoceros was considered by Dutch and 

 English hunters to be superior to that of any other game animal in 

 South Africa ; the part in greatest favour being the hump, situated in 

 front of the withers. This was cut off whole and roasted in the skin 

 In a hole dug in the ground. To\vards the end of the rainy season, in 

 February and March, white rhinoceroses became excessively fat, and 

 would often remain in good condition till late in the dry season. I 

 have seen them so fat that between the skin and the flesh over the 

 greater part of the body there was a layer over I inch in thickness, 

 while the whole belly was covered with fat 2 inches thick. The 

 fat was soft and oily, well flavoured, and excellent for culinary 

 purposes. 



" The species was apparently a slow breeder, for although I have 

 often seen cows accompanied by calves at least three-quarters as large 

 as themselves, and probably several years old, very few of these had a 

 second calf with them. Once I saw a cow with two three-parts-grown 



