294 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



animal, should it tread upon the surface and pass through. 

 Accordingly a noose is laid upon the surface. The rope is con- 

 structed specially, of great strength, and the end is fastened to a 

 log of wood that weighs about 200 or 300 Ibs. This is buried 

 slightly in the earth, together with the cord. A quantity of dung 

 is thrown carelessly over the freshly turned ground to conceal the 

 fact. 



The rhinoceros, like many other animals, has a habit of scraping 

 the ground with its fore foot when it visits the nightly rendezvous ; 

 during this action it is almost certain to step upon the concealed 

 trap. The foot sinks through, and in the withdrawal the noose 

 fixes itself upon the leg, prevented from slipping off by the pointed 

 support beneath, which remains fast, adhering to the skin. 



The moment that the rhinoceros discovers that its leg is noosed, 

 it makes a sudden rush ; this draws the noose tight, and, at the 

 same time, the jerk pulls the buried log out of the trench. The 

 animal, frightened at the mishap, gallops off, with the heavy log 

 following behind. This arrangement is excellent, as it leaves an 

 unmistakable trace of the retreat, which can easily be followed by 

 the trappers on the following morning. At the same time, there 

 is not the same risk of the rope breaking that would be occasioned 

 by a steady pull. The log, which trails behind, catches in the 

 innumerable bushes and thorns, causing great fatigue, until the 

 rhinoceros, thoroughly wearied, is obliged to halt. When dis- 

 covered by the hunters, it is generally entangled by some attempt 

 to turn, which has hooked the log around a tree ; the fight then 

 commences, as the beast has to be killed with spears, which pene- 

 trate the hide with difficulty. Accidents frequently happen when 

 the rhinoceros, thoroughly enraged, succeeds in snapping the rope. 



I have seen a horn in Khartoum that was brought down the 

 White Nile by one of the slave-hunting companies, which came 

 from the distant west, in the latitude of Lake Chad ; that must 

 have belonged to a different species of rhinoceros, as it was quite 

 3 feet long, and immensely thick ; no Ketloa or black rhinoceros 

 ever possessed such a horn. The longest one I have ever shot 

 measured 23 inches, and I have never seen a larger one in pos- 

 session of the natives. 



There was a ready market in Gellabat, the frontier town of 

 Abyssinia, as in that country the horn is in great demand for the 

 handles of swords belonging to the chiefs. In 1861 in that locality 

 the ordinary price was a dollar per Ib. 



The skin of the rhinoceros is exceedingly compact and dense. 

 When stretched over a block and dried, it is rubbed down with 



