THE HOME OF THE RHINO 119 



away without seriously hurting her. The bullet 

 seemed to have no effect and she did not change her 

 course in the slightest degree. By this time she was 

 within a short distance of Stephenson, who was 

 obliged to run a few feet and take refuge behind 

 a tree. 



The gunbearers and porters, who had fled in all 

 directions, thought that Stephenson was caught, 

 but the rhino, passing him with only a small mar- 

 gin of five feet, continued thunderously on her 

 way. In a few yards she slowed down, and when 

 last seen was walking. She had evidently been hit 

 very hard by the soft nose bullet and was already 

 showing signs of sickness. Suddenly a terrific 

 squealing made the party aware that the cow rhino 

 had been accompanied by a little rhino calf. The 

 calf, only a couple of weeks old, charged savagely 

 at every one in sight and every one in sight took 

 refuge behind trees and bushes. Instead of trying 

 to escape, the animal turned and continued to attack 

 in all directions whenever a man showed himself. 

 When a man leaped behind a tree the calf would 

 charge the tree with such force that it would be 

 hurled back several feet, only to spring up and 

 charge again. His squealing could be heard for a 

 mile. After a long time the porters succeeded in 

 capturing it and they conveyed it back to camp 

 strung on a pole. If that little rhino was any cri- 

 terion of rhino pugnacity, then surely the rhino is 

 born with the instinctive impulse to charge and to 

 fight as savagely as any animal alive. 



