Rhinoceros Shooting. 69 



rhinoceros in one day with one ball each, and those 

 bullets were twenty to the pound in calibre, yet 

 the next day he lost a large rhinoceros after re- 

 peated discharges at close quarters ! Truly there 

 is great luck in shooting ! One day a man will 

 bag all he fires at ; the next day, under equally 

 favourable circumstances, he will not kill a single 

 thing. 



The two-horned rhinoceros's habitat extends from 

 Chittagong southwards, and it is also found in Sumatra, 

 Java and some of the other large islands. Its skin is 

 as smooth as a buffalo's, but in habits and customs it 

 much resembles the other species of its family. A 

 curious variety of this rhinoceros was secured by 

 Captain Hood, and is now, I believe, in the Zoological 

 Gardens, Kegent's Park. Its ears, if I remember right, 

 were somewhat tesselated, and I believe there is an- 

 other variety called the hairy rhinoceros. I waged 

 war against these pachyderms, why, I don't know r 

 for I was not fond enough of the ungrateful Assamese 

 to provide them with such choice food but I can 

 answer for it, that of the forty- seven or forty- eight 

 which I killed, not an ounce of flesh was thrown away. 

 I, however, lost a number of wounded. Whenever I 

 was out shooting in the " dooars," I was followed 

 secretly by " shikaries," who retrieved my wounded 

 beasts, sold the flesh to the natives and appropriated 

 the horns. In this way I was robbed of a magnificent 

 one (for Assam), fully eighteen inches long and weigh- 

 ing three seers or more. I should have known nothing 

 of this larceny but that two men quarrelled about 

 the plunder, and then one went post haste to Bur- 

 pettah and reported that he and his partner had 



