64 Great and Small Game of Africa 



over the curve. During the same month of the same year three other 

 white rhinoceros cows were shot by Griqua hunters close to my camp, 

 with horns over 3 feet in length, and in July 1880 one of my waggon- 

 drivers shot a white rhinoceros bull with a very fine pair of horns, 

 which I now have in my collection. In this pair the front horn measures 

 37^ inches in length, and over 27 inches in circumference, whilst the 

 posterior horn is 17^ inches long. 



I doubt if there is a finer pair of bull white rhinoceros horns in existence 

 than this, as the males in this species never carried such extraordinarily 

 long horns as some of the cows. 



The flesh of the white rhinoceros was always considered by both Dutch 

 and English hunters to be superior to that of any other game animal in 

 South Africa, and in this verdict I entirely agree. The part in greatest 

 favour was the hump, which was situated just in front of the withers. 

 This hump was cut off whole and roasted, just as it was in the skin, in a 

 hole dug in the ground. Towards the end of the rainy season, in February 

 and March, white rhinoceroses used to become excessively fat, and would 

 often keep in very good condition till late in the dry season. I have seen 

 them so fat, that between the skin and the flesh over the greater part of 

 the body there was a layer over 1 inch in thickness, whilst the whole 

 belly was covered with fat 2 inches thick. The fat was soft and oily, well 

 flavoured, and most excellent for culinary purposes. These animals were in 

 the habit of depositing their dung day after day in the same place, and as 

 long as they were plentiful large accumulations were often met with. 

 They must have been a very slow-breeding animal, as, although I have 

 often seen a white rhinoceros cow accompanied by a calf at least three 

 quarters as large as herself, which must have been several years old, 

 only a small number of these had a small calf with them as well. I once 

 saw a cow with two three-parts-grown young ones with her, both about 

 the same size, and presume they were twins, though I should imagine that 



