1891.] Recent Literature. 269 
he must be hurt; but he had no pain. He began to feel himself with 
his hands, and he felt something wet and soft upon one thigh. 
‘ The fact was, that the long horn of the rhinoceros had passed 
through his thigh. It not only had passed through his thigh, but 
through the saddle flap, then completely through the horse, and was 
stopped by the flap upon the other side. The horse and rider to- 
gether were thrown into the air, and the inversion was so complete 
that one of Oswell’s wounds—a cut upon the head—was occasioned by 
as stirrup-iron, which proved the inverted position. 
e horse was, of course, killed upon the spot, and the Caffres 
came to their master’s assistance, and placed him upon his spare horse, 
upon which they held him until they reached the camp. This wound 
kept the great hunter prostrate for months. It is many years since 
Oswell told me this story, but I think I have narrated it exactly. 
“It must be remembered that this rhinoceros belonged to the so- 
called harmless species. This incident is sufficient to exhibit the utter 
fallacy of a belief that any kind of an animal is ‘ invariably harmless.’ 
We find that many beasts which are accredited with bad characters 
conduct themselves occasionally as though abject cowards. In the 
same manner, those which are considered timid may, when least 
expected, exhibit great ferocity.” 
The chapter on wild-boar hunting is interesting, and that on the 
cape buffalo (Bos caffer) is especially full of adventure. The habits of 
the Sambur deer (Cervus aristotelis) of India are described with much 
vividness. Our own hunters will read with interest the adventures of 
the author in the Big Horn Mountains shooting wapiti (Cervus cana- 
densis) and bison (Bos americanus). 
Altogether we have not had for a long time such a treat as the 
reading of this book. We give two of the twenty-nine plates with 
which the book is illustrated. 
The Tenth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist of 
California! is a well-illustrated volume, containing a number of general 
articles descriptive of geological phenomena observed in California 
during the past year, as well as detailed accounts of the geology of the 
fifty-three counties into which the state is divided, special reports upon 
the geology of various mining districts, and upon methods of treating 
ores. Asis to be expected, a large portion of the report is occupied 
with a discussion of gold mining in its various phases. There is, how- 
1 California State Mining Bureau, William Ireland, Jr., State Mineralogist; Tenth 
Annual Report of State Mineralogist for year ending December 1, 1890; Sacramento 
State Office, 1890. Pp. 983, 42 Figs., 7 Pls. and Maps. 
