HUNTING THE EHINOCEROS 



723 



afraid of the uncouth Borelo. The lion silently retires from its path, and even the 

 elephant is glad to get out of the way. Yet this brutal and stupidly hoggish animal 

 is distinguished by its parental love, and the tenderness which it bestows on its young 

 is returned with equal affection. European hunters have often witnessed that when 

 the mother dies, the calf remains two full days near the body. 



Although not gregarious, and most generally solitary or grazing in pairs, yet fre- 

 quently as many as a dozen rhinoceroses are seen pasturing and browsing together. 

 As is the case with many other inhabitants of the tropical wilderness, the huge beast 

 awakens to a more active life after sunset. It then hastens to the lake or river to 

 slake its thirst or to wallow in the mud, thus covering its hide with a thick coat of 

 clay, against the attacks of flies ; or to relieve itself from the itching of their stings, it 

 rubs itself against some tree, and testifies its inward satisfaction by a deep-drawn 

 grunt. During the night, it rambles over a great extent of country, but soon after 

 sunrise seeks repose and shelter against the heat under the shade of a mimosa, or the 

 projecting ledge of a rock, where it spends the greater part of the day in sleep, either 

 stretched at full length or in a standing position. Thus seen from a distance, it might 

 easily be mistaken for a huge block of stone. 



The rhinoceros is hunted in various manners. One of the most approved plans is 

 to stalk the animal, either when feeding or reposing. If the sportsman keep well 

 under the wind, and there be the least cover, he has no difficulty in approaching 

 the beast within easy range, when, if the ball be well directed, it is killed on the spot. 

 But by far the most convenient way of destroying the animal is to shoot it from a cover 

 or a screen, when it comes to the pool to slake its thirst. Occasionally it is also taken 

 in pitfalls. Contrary to common belief, a leaden ball (though spelter is preferable) 

 will easily find its way through the hide of the African rhinoceros, but it is necessary 

 to be within thirty or forty paces of the brute, and desirable to have a double charge 

 of powder. The most deadly part to aim at is just behind the shoulder; a ball 

 through the center of the lobes of the lungs is certain to cause almost instantaneous 

 death. A shot in the head never or rarely proves fatal, as the brain, which, in pro- 

 portion to the bulk of the animal, does not attain the three-hundredth part of the size 

 of the human cerebrum, is protected, besides its smallness, by a prodigious case of 

 bone, hide, and horn. However severely wounded the rhinoceros may be, he seldom 

 bleeds externally. This is attributable in part, no doubt, to the great thickness of the 

 hide and its elasticity, which occasions the hole caused by the bullet nearly to close 

 up, as also from the hide not being firmly attached to the body, but constantly moving. 

 If the animal bleed at all, it is from the mouth and nostrils, which is a pretty sure 

 si2;n that it is mortally hurt, and will soon drop down dead. It is remarkable that the 

 rhinoceros, when hit by a fatal bullet, does not fall upon one side, but generally sinks 

 on its knees, and thus breathes its last. 



From what has been related of the fury of the rhinoceros, its pursuit must evidently 

 be attended with considerable danger, and thus the annals of the wild sports of Southern 

 Africa are full of hair breadth escapes from its terrific charge. The rhinoceros is 

 hunted for its flesh, its hide (which is manufactured into the best and hardest leather 

 that can be imagined), and its horns, which, being capable of a high polish, fetch at 

 the Cape a higher price than ordinary elephant ivory. It is extensively used in the 

 raanufiicture of sword-handles, drinking-cups, ramrods for rifles, and a variety of othei 



