io6 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
it is astonishing to see the speed that this heavy 
animal can attain, and continue for a great distance. 
I have hunted them in company with the Arabs, 
and for at least 2 miles our horses have been going 
their best, keeping a position within 5 or 6 yards 
of the hind - quarters, but nevertheless unable to 
overtake them before they reached an impenetrable 
jungle. It is the peculiar formation of the hind legs 
which enables the rhinoceros to attain this speed ; 
the length from the thigh to the hock is so great 
that it affords immense springing capacity, and the 
animal bounds along the surface like a horse in full 
gallop, without the slightest appearance of weight or 
clumsiness. 
Upon a level plain, free from bushes or stones, 
a good horse would quickly overtake the black 
rhinoceros, but the animal is seldom found upon 
such favourable ground, and its strength and three- 
hoofed feet give it a peculiar advantage for travel¬ 
ling at a high speed over a rough surface that would 
test the endurance of the best horse. 
There is considerable danger in shooting a 
rhinoceros, owing to the difficulty in stopping a 
charge. The position of the two horns makes it 
impossible to reach the brain by a forehead shot, as 
the bullet, should it strike a horn, would certainly 
deflect. If you are slightly on one side, there is a 
direct line to the exceedingly small brain, exactly in 
front of the eyes, but this is extremely difficult to 
hit, and must be hazardous. The bone of the skull 
is the hardest of any animal in existence, and upon 
