Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1879-01-25
BESIEGED BY A RHINOCEROS.

gible announcement with which my
friend Ms bush-boy came rushing
in Just about sunrise one morning as we
were sitting over our breakfast at the
door of the house-one of those regular
old Dutch-built farm-houses, that one
hardly ever sees nowadays, except in
South Africa. But what he meant by it
was, "Boss, boss! the trail of big rhi-
noceros rascal"
"WhereP" cried M, jumping up;
for he was Il keen sportsman, and new
er lost an opportunity of "potting"
something.
"Out by Hollow Spring, baas-spoor
goodI"
"There's chance for you, my boy"
said M, turning to me. "Now
you'll be able to see how these elephant
guns of mine do their work; think
you'll find them the right sort"
"Let me try the job by myself" cried
1, eagerly; for, like all "greenhorns,"
| was frantic TO do some unheard-of
feat, and win my laurels at once. "I've
never shot a rhinoceros yet, you know"
" Can't, really, my dear boy" said
M, in the most exasperatingly in
dulgent tone; "when you're little
better used to the African bush, you can
do what you like; but if were to let
you go alone now, the least could ex-
pect would be a lifelong remorse for
having connived at suicide. No, we'll
make party of three to visit our friend,
and he'll hardly give the slip to us all, 1
fancy"
Accordingly, we started out that very
night, Swart, the bush-boy, making the
third of our party; but l suppose the
rhinoceros was too modest to face so
many visitors at once, for although we
kept watch till sunrise, there was no
sign of him. The next night it was just
the same; and at last 1 got so mad at
losing my chance-the first had ever
had with the big game-that in spite of
what M had said, made up my
mind to try my luck single-handed.
should have told you that the Hol-
low Spring frequented by my four-foot-
ed friend, lay about eight miles from the
house, in deep gully, one side of which
went up into steep hog-backed ridge,
topped by big knuckle of rock that
overlooked the spring at a range of 80
yards-as pretty s'stand" as any
sportsman could wish. So, when night
came, l stole out of the house with one
ofM-'s vaunted "elephant-guns''-
a piece carrying five-ounce ''explos-
i've ball. steel-tipped, and holding
enough Illuminating powder TO blow out
against the recoil of such charge, the
stock was fitted with thick pad; so,
with gun and ammunition together, l
had quite enough to carry for an eight
mile tramp through the bush.
dare say there are ugly thickets in
South America and Central Asia; but
Africa beats them both. Imagine for
est of fish-hooks, relieved by an occa-
sional patch of penknives, and you have
it exactly. There's one horrid spiky
thing, called by the Dutch Wache-
em-betje," which the English have cor
rupted into wait-a-bit," and it does
make you wait bit, if it once gets hold
of you. I've known fellow be laid up
for fortnight with a cash from one.
So you may think that with masses OF
this nice stuff all around me, had to
pick my way gingerly enough.
When got to the place, loi and be-
hold, the pad of my gun had fallen off
To go back and look for it would have
been like hunting for a needle in hay
stack; so filed my handkerchief with
wild grass, and tucked it in under the
shoulder of my jacket as a substitute,
and then 1 took my post behind the
rock and waited.
The full moon was Just rising over
the trees Ca glorious sight, can tell
you), when l heard distant tramp.
ling, like the tread of an elephant, only
quicker; for a full-grown rhinoceros,
clumsy as he looks, can be active enough
at times, as you'd soon find if you stood
charge from him when his temper's
up. So had not long to wait before
there came thick snort, and the great
brown barrel of a body loomed out in
the streak of moonlight, just over the
spring. l hardly stopped to take aim,
bef ore pulled trigger.
The next few seconds were blank
and then | awoke to the consciousness
that my shoulder was aching as if il
were broken, and that something wa:
grunting savagely few yards off; and
then saw the huge snout and great
white tusks coming right at me!
don't think any acrobat could have been
quicker than l was in olutching pro.
jecting bough, and swinging up into the
tree overhead; and I'd hardly got there
when the brute came bang against the
trunk, almost shaking me off again.
For a minute or two, my heart was il
my mouth, for he thumped against the
tree till really thought he would have
it down; and when he found he couldn't
he stamped the earth in a fury, and tore
it up with his horn in q horribly sug.
geslive way that made my flesh creep
Here l was, then, in the crisis of reg
ular "adventure," such as | had al
ways longed for; but somehaw, now
that was in it, it didn't seem so very
delightful. It's one thing to read o
adventures in an easy-chair after dinner
and another TO act them tor yourself al
night on hard bough, with thousand
of mosquitoes pitching into you, and
mad rhinoceros galloping about under
meath.
The likeness between my situation
and some of those recorded by Captain
Mayne Reid set me overhauling my re
collections of that veracious author, il
the hope of an idea; but the more
thought, the more the Captain failet
me. Basil, when followed up tree b,
bear, got his brothers to throw hin
up a rope, and slid down; but had NJ
brothers, and no rope. Ben Brace, whel
"treed" by the lion, lassoed his drop
ped musket, and slew the king of BEAST
herewith; but 1 had no lasso, ant
couldn't have used it if l had. Some
body else, blockaded by "grizzly,
waited till Bruin fell asleep, and thel
slipped away; but my rhinoceros seem
ed distressingly wide-awake, and evel
if he had dozed, the experiment woul'
not have commended itself to my fancy
In short, the most mastery stratagem
could devise was to stay still where
was, and 1 did so.
The night was the longest ever spent
and no mistake Toward morning, Mas
ter Rhino frequently took brief leav
of absence into the bush, as if to temp
me down; but heard him tramplini
| .. To l,r, Ia