Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-08-29
SHOOTING a RH,NocERos.
Allan 0uarsermain Bags . Huge Monster
=, After = Hard Fight.


aking my eight-bore and half q
Aen spare cartridges in my pocket, I
made q detour, and reaching the ant
heap, in safety, lay down. For mo-
ment the wind had dropped, but pres
emily gentle puff of air passed over
me and blew on towards the rhinoce.
ros. I wonder what it is that
smells so strong about a man? Is it
his body or his breath? have never
been able to make out, but saw some
where the other day that in the duck
decoys the man who is working the
duck holds a little piece of burning
turf before his mouth, and that If he
does this they can not smell him. Well,
whatever it was about me that attract.
ed his attention, the rhinoceros soon
smelt me, and within half q minute
after the puff of wind had passed,
he was up and turning round
to get his head up-wind. There h>
stood for few seconds and shifted,
and then he began to move, first of all
at a trot; then; as the scent grow
stronger, at a furious gallop. On he
came, snorting like o runaway engine,
with his tail stuck straight up in the
air; If he had seen me lie down there,
he could not have made a better line.
1t was rather nervous work, can tell
you, lying there waiting for his on
slaught, for he looked like mountain
of flesh. I determined, however, not
to fire till could plainly see his eye,
for l think that rule always gives one
the right distance for big game. So
I rested my rife on the ant heap and
waited for him, kneeling. At last,
when he was about forty yards away, I
saw that the time had come, and, aim
ing straight for the middle of the
chest, I pulled. Thud went the heavy
bullet, and with tremendous snort
over rolled the rhinoceros be-
meath the shock, just like q
shot rabbit. But if I had thought
that he was done for I was mistaken,
for in another second he was up and
coming at me as hard as ever, only
with his head held low. I waited I'M
til he was within ten yards, in the
hope that he would expose his chest,
but he would do nothing of the sort.
So l just had to fire at his head with
the left barrel and take my chance.
Well, as luck would have it, of course,
the animal put its horn in the way of
the bullet, which cut clean through it
about three inches above the root, and
then glanced off into space. After
that things got rather serious. My
gun was empty, and the rhinoceros
was rapidly arriving-so rapidly, in
deed, that I came to the conclusion
that 1 had better make way for him.
Accordingly I jumped to my feet and
ran to the right as hard as I could go.
AS l did so he arrived full tilt, knocked
my friendly ant-heap fat, and for the
second time that day went most
magnificent cropper. This gave me
few seconds start, and I ran
down wind - my word, I did
run! Unfortunately, however, my
modest retreat was observed, and the
rhinoceros, as soon as he got his legs
again, set to work to run after me.
Now, no man on earth can run as fast
as an irritated rhinoceros can gallop,
and I knew that he must soon catch
me up. But having some slight expe-
rience of this sort of thing, I, luckily
for myself, kept my head, and as fed
managed to open my rifle, get the old
cartridges out, and put two fresh ones
in. To do this, had to steady my
pace little, and by the time that had
snapped the rifle to heard him snort
ing and laundering away within few
PAGES OF my back. / stopped, and as I
did so, rapidly cooked the rifle, and
slowed round upon my heel. By this
time the brute was within six or seven
yards of me, but luckily his head was
UP. I lifted the rifle and fred
at him. 1t was a snap shot, and
the bullet struck him in the chest
within three inches of the first, and
found its way into his lungs. 1t did
not stop him however, so all I could
do was to bound to one side, which
did with surprising activity, and as he
brushed past me fire the other barrel
into his side. That did for him. The
ball passed in behind the shoulder and
right through the heart He fell over
on his side, gave one most awful
squeal-a dozen pigs could not have
made such a noise-and promptly
died, keeping his wicked eyes wide
open all the time.
As for me, 1 blew my nose, and 60
ing up to the rhinoceros, sat on his
head, reflected that I had had q
capital mornings shooting.-Fr0na f.
Rider Haggard's nev story in Harper
Magazine.
Self shness and .SeIf-B!indness.