xvi THE RHINOCEROS 293 



the White Nile, from Abyssinia to within 1 14' of the equator; 

 this is the variety known as the Ketloa. It well merits the dis- 

 tinction of superior ferocity, as it will attack either man or beast, 

 frequently without the slightest provocation. It is especially 

 likely to attack should it obtain the wind (scent) of any person or 

 strange animal before it appears in sight. This makes it extremely 

 dangerous when riding through thick jungle or high grass, should 

 a rhinoceros be somewhere concealed to leeward. I have myself 

 been hunted out of the jungle by two rhinoceroses which thus 

 gained our wind, just as we had become aware of their existence 

 through the presence of fresh droppings. Fortunately there was 

 no lady, and our party was confined to the Hamran Arabs and 

 myself; but three sharp whiffs close at hand in the thick jungle, 

 like jets of steam let off to ease the boiler, were immediately 

 followed by the animals themselves, which came tearing down upon 

 us at full speed, and sent us flying in all directions. 



No lady upon a side saddle could possibly have ridden through 

 that thorny jungle without being dragged from her seat. As it 

 was, after a mad chase the animals lost sight of us, but when we 

 collected together, everybody was more or less damaged, by either 

 tumbling over rocks, or being torn by the hooked horns. 



The sure find for rhinoceros is in the neighbourhood of a 

 peculiar red-barked mimosa. This is the much-loved food, and the 

 appearance of the bushes will immediately denote the presence of 

 the animal ; they are clipped, as though by pruning shears, all the 

 shoots being cut off in a straight line where the rhinoceros has 

 been browsing. This neat operation is effected by the prehensile 

 lip and the shear-like teeth. Another proof of rhinoceros will be 

 found in the vast piles of dung, nearly always against the stem of 

 a considerable tree ; it is a peculiar custom of this animal to visit 

 the same place every night, and this regularity of functions brings 

 it into the traps which are cunningly devised by the natives for 

 its capture. 



A round hole, the size of an ordinary hat-box, is dug near the 

 tree. This is neatly formed, and when completed, it is covered 

 with a wooden circle like the toy wheel of a child's waggon. The 

 spokes are made of flat bamboo, with sharp points overlapping 

 each other in the centre, in the place where the nave would be. 

 This looks rather like a sieve when fitted carefully as a cover to 

 the hole. If any person were to thrust his fist through this 

 clastic substance, the points of the bamboo would prevent his 

 hand from being withdrawn, as they would retain his arm. In 

 the same manner this sieve-like cap would retain the leg of an 



