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. 
