146 THE RHINOCEROS. 



When the horseman who had remained behind, 

 engaged with the animal, supposes that his comrades 

 have attained their retreat, he starts off like a dart, 

 reaches the foot of the tree indicated, leaps from his 

 horse, which gallops off, and climbs swiftly up the 

 branches. 



The rhinoceros, which has followed him, dashes 

 furiously against the tree, as if he meant to upset 

 it, and strikes his horn deeply into it. But whilst he 

 is making unheard of efforts to disengage himself, the 

 hunters in ambush fall on him and kill him with their 

 lances. As to the horse, he stands still when he finds 

 that he is no longer pursued, and, attracted by the 

 neighing of his companions, he is not slow in rejoining 

 them. 



The rhinoceros, when attacked, takes voluntarily, 

 as we have seen, a tree for ?. hunter, and discharges a 

 his rage on the former. Livingstone attributes this 

 blundering to the fact of the horn being so placed 

 as to obstruct the line of vision; and he gives as a 

 proof that the variety named Kua-ladbo, having the 

 horn projecting downwards, and therefore not inter- 

 fering with the sight, was able to be much more 

 wary than its neighbours. Be this as it may, the 

 eye at all events is very small, and sunk in the 

 head. On the other hand, the senses of hearing 

 and smell are very subtle; at the least noise the 



