THE RHINOCEROS HUNTERS. 



293 



The eyes of the beast are very small, its ears are long, and tipped with scrubby 

 bristles, and its sense of hearing and smell is so acute that it is almost useless for 

 a hunter to approach him from the windward. Besides this, despite its enormous 

 bulk (the rhinoceros ranks next to the elephant in size), he is so swift of foot that it 

 takes an unusually good steed to overtake him. 



The long-horned white rhinoceros is the rarer of the two and is found far in the 

 interior and mainly to the eastward of the Limpopo. Many of them have horns 

 four feet in length, curving forward, wniie the horn of the mockotho bends backward 

 and is rarely more than two-thirds the length ot the other. A survey of the head 

 and front of one of these creatures will satisfy you that he holds the championship 

 for ugliness in the way of looks. 



RHINOCEROS OP INDIA. 



The Javanese rhinoceros is not so bulky as the Indian species, and has longer 

 legs. It is mischievous, but less dangerous than those I have named. 



When I add that the rhinoceros is nocturnal in his habits, that he is a terrible 

 fighter when aroused, and that he has one of the most alert of small birds to warn 

 him of danger, you will admit there are many obstacles to success in hunting him. 



The point where Pongo and Diedrick had located the game was fully a mile to 

 the northward of the camp, and at no great distance, therefore, from the elevation 

 which was used as an observatory on the first arrival of our friends in this section. 



They had not seen the beast distinctly, but it seemed to have been aroused by 

 thirst and was pushing its way through the tall grass from the river to its resting- 

 place during the day-time. 



