Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-08-22
,uffs, as "few and far between as he would

quired if his mamma was aware of his not
being at home? lie was replying in his
own murmuring way when row began
on the eastern lake. Trombones, biz
drums, thunder. shrill flies, donkey bray
4 ing, bagpipes, sharpening offs saws, roaring
OF bulls, dying groans, and squeaking of
unoiled cart wheels, all and sundry, and
much more, in a dutch medley, en-
trsnced the ear. The Captain turned his
ear towards the water, and looked up to
me with an know all-about-it sort of air
Il was plain such rows were not new to
him; he took the matter philosophically.
Presently came more noise; and more still;
more sounds in greater variety and vio-
lence; horrors accumulated fast and furi-
ous-7 over the bank from one lake to
the other, rushed dense masses of saurians
! hippopotimi and rhinoceros, thickly mass
ed till they became tightly wedged, all
fighting for precedence, rearing, plugging,
tearing each other madly. the latter gor-
ing and disemboweling the nearest to them
and quite reckless whether they were Of
their own species or not. Serpents. long
and large, bounded through the trees like
flashes of lightning, Kissing hoarsely as
they went. The birds Of night and day
were alike aroused.
blocked, the dense mass OF huge beasts
swayed to and fro, one or more occasion
/ ally falling over. captain Rhine" now
thought it time 10 interfere: his head and
horn went up and down SO a ball moves
when he thinks evil. lie could see me
plairx by the light of my lamp, as | sat
smoking. and looking at the fight: his
/ looks said, you'll see some fun presently"
( but he uttered no sound. He went to work
silently; in all cases | observed lie reser-
we'd his trumpeting till victory was aehiev-
ed. rather liked that; fer silent dogs bite
deepest. Elevatlng and depressing his
head and bell-rope tail, with its little tassel
fit for night cap at the end OF it, he went
of rs deliberately asbeiore, but stern de-
termination in every step. II those in his
way had not made their wills, their last
opportunity was gone. His horns made
| iorcible entries into many interiors as he
plOwed his way through the mass, casting
bodies forwards, backwards, sideways, and
all ways, clearing the path as ifan Irishman
ito the manor born and Faugh -ballagh
was his family. The lightest went over
his head and back, yards behind him. many
into the lakes each side; in three minutes
the bank was freed of all living, only the
dead encountered it. Then he plunged in
to the eastern lake, after the scudding le-
g0n before him to the scat of war.
As the Tide OF battle surged near or re
mOte,s the horrible sounds increased or
diminished | took the straps off my
knapsack and haversack, passed them
round the branch and my own body, So
curely buekling them. My roer was laid
alongside me, the muZZle towards my feet,
everything ready TO my hand in tho event
of Danger, and after commencing myself
to the care of Him who was rs much with
ME in those wilds az in the temple, | was
asleep in two minutes.
At sunrise my leviathan friend had not
put in an appearance. | thought him late
but he might not belong to the early ris-
ing association, or was he killed in last
nights melee? | was rather anxious for |
wished to know why he had sought me. |
was sure he had some reason in doing so.
As took coffee / saw his head upon the
lake, like small boat with one mast and
no sail, the rising prOtuberance Of his hind
quarters like another boat lin tow" He
SWAN slowly ill the water or ink shoaled.
than he limpcd TO the bank, up which he
got with difficulty. and walked as ii he
had four wooden legs without ankles or
knee joints, sending forth sounds which
thought denoted gladnesS 10 see me. sa-
luted him with a yolley of nonsense as. he
approached me. | had gone down to
meet him-he seemed in great pain. but
as pleased rs If he had found a fortune.
He was very demonstratiye, and, being
wet, might have been dispensed with; but
he thought otherwise, and his sincerity
could not be questioned. offered biscuit.
but of that he took no notice; he rubbed
his head against my hand, and placed his
face to my chest. fancy no animal can
be more clumsy than q rhinocerOs, and,
though he is less 50 than the animals
exhibited under that name in Europe, bis
limitations Of the movements OF lively
lapdog were highly ludicrous, but what he
wanted in grace he made up IN energy, and,
in displaying it, he seemed TO forget his
pain.
| now saw that he was not so old as
thought him. | had seen him al night i'm
perfectly. He was but just at maturity,
and fine specimen of his race, that race
being what |, for the want of better
term, call the rhinoceros major, CHASING
the inferior animal rs the rhinoceros mi
nor. In hight he lowered far above the
ordinary animals had 80 often seen which
| had chased and been chased by many a
time. Subsequently atape measure showed
be was fully nine feet six inches high at
the shoulder, at the quarters ten feet three
inches. lie had not the distended stomach
which is seen in the inferior beats gener-
ally. The peculiar folds of the massive
and pOhderous hids from the shoulder TO
the quarter gave an appearance, at dis
lance of large saddle clotb;" the folds
at the bottom had sort of edge, which
gave finished ana acknowledgements
| till he came near, when i. was seen that
the whole was his natural covering. The
edge was darker than the center within.
All of the superior kind OF rhinoceros that
| have seen are distinguished by this nat
ural peculiarly, some having ii more mark
ed than Captain Rhino
That the animal should, as he clearly
did, seek me, seemed more than strange TO
Inc. This rhinoceros had not been accus-
toned to the sight of man; his wonder
when he first beheld me proved that, and
it was so plainly depicted that | could
have no doubt ON the subject; but, having
seen me, why should he be DESTROYS of
getting on good terms with me? | could
not understand it then. yet had not long
TO wait for the solution of the problem.
A SURGICAL OPERATION.
| observed that among all its demonstra
tons of gladness and unmistakable fond
ness, he seemed very stiff and in great pain
, when he turned to move quickly. In his
warmest revealings an occasional sound
escaped him, indicative of acute pain. Al
first | attributed this to last nights war
fare; but as his anguish appeared to De in
tolerable, and he at times turned his CLAN
ces towards his right flank, and from thai
his expressive eyes sought mine, | deter
mined TO discover the cause il possible.
, could not see his intense suiferings without
trying to know their source, and make al
effort to relieve them. unslung my heav,
, double rified roer from my shoulders, laid
! it down, and knelt upon the ground at hi
side, to look at the part at which he gaze;
! so earnestly. AS did so. he actually step
ped sideways nearer to me, as if to give me
better view-as if anxious that should
do something for him--at all events
thought so. laid my head upon the grass
and saw enOurh to accom-. for any amoup