The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-04-05
THBBLACKR HINOCEROS

gerous foe than the lion, tiger or any
: of the serpent family, As a shark is al
ways hungry, so is the black rhinoceros
always mad. He does not know what
fear is. He would charge INTO an army
as soon as at a single hunter. He can
be defeated only by being killed.
While agent for the animal house at
Hamburg | captured, all told, seven speci-
mems of the rhinoceros family, of which
five were black, and they were got at
such cost and trouble that the house re-
fu cd for several years 20 fill any more
orders for this species. A lion, tiger.
zebra, giraffe or elephant soon gives in
when made captive and secured on ship
board, but the black rhinoceros never
gives up. He simply can't do it. Nature
made him defiant, and he remains in
that condit ton every day of his life.
One which 1 captured for the Paris
gardens in 1857 was placed in an en-
closure, the roof of which was supported
at one point by a heavy stone column.
The beast charged this column as soon
as turned into the enclosure, and was
knocked down and considerably hurt;
but for the next two years he repeated
his foolishness at least once a day,
knocking off his horns and bruising
himself until be was finally sold to some
show for a mere song.
Wherever there is wild rice swamp
N South Africa there you will find the
black rhinOceros. They used to be very
plenty along the Orange and Limpopo
Rivers and their tributaries, and there is
no fear that their nHmbers have been
greatly thinned out by sportsmen since.
Every hunter wants to kill one as a matter
Of course, but he has no desire for a fuss
with a second.
On the occasion of which l write l
went up the Limpopo from hustenburg,
having a party of sixteen men, of whom
three besides myself were white. We
had two house boats and a barge, the
latter fitted up as a prison for the rhi-
noceri we proposed TO capture. The three
Dutch hunters ] engaged for the expedi-
/ ton claimed to know all about the game
We were after, aud had every appliance
we could possibly make use Of 1 had
! seen the white rhinoceros run down and
lassoed by Aorseman, aud, although
some very tough stories have been told
OF the black species l did not take much
stock in them.
Three days to the north of the Dutch
town named we hauled ashore and made
our camp on bluff rising twenty feet
f6fiy' rods Tong a.. Of i hgl la mas sfas s
sloped of into great swamp Il rice
teld. ! be Ice st ICED 90 SIX or seven
feet high, while the ground was perfectly
dry. 1t was a natural feeding ground
4nr the I 81 l.
of signs that he was at hand. We started
to make one general camp about midway
on the bluff, but one Of the Tree State
natives in my train beckonod me aside
and said
If you d. live you lose all. If rhi-
noeeros charge into camp he break every
Thing here. Make camp all the way
1t was a good idea, aud | ordered
three camps instead of one. / took the
centre with the Dutchmen, and the ma
lives eucamped on each side and about
fifteen rods away. As we intended to re-
main for some time things were made
pretty secure. After our camps were
finished, Gosh" as | called the native
who had warned me, gathered a lot Of
stout creepers and vines and made de-
fence in front of each camp by attach
ing them to stakes and trees and weav-
ing an obstruction about three feet high
We laughed at him, but events proved
shat his head was level 1t was about
o'clock when we landed, and at 4 we
were comfortably fixed. / was rubbing
down my big bore rife when two OF
three natives came running up with the
information that a rhinoceros was in
Eight-directlY below my camp. A quar-
ter Of mile away was knoll rising out
Of The rice swamp. This knoll was bare,
and as ran out in response to the alarm l
saw double horned rhinoceros standing
on he knoll with his head toward us.
He had got our wind, aud perhaps heard
the cries of the natives. These animals I
are near sighted, and this fellow could I
not have told at that distance what was
in front of him. lie did not care. how +
ever. With a snort and grunt ne low
erecl his head and charged up the rising
ground like a wild locomotive
al ook out Every body climb treeF'
shouted Gosh and in a minute we
were among the limbs.
1t was good move and yet a poor one.
Had been on my feet at Just the right
moment, l could have made a valuable
capture without danger. The old fellow
held direct for my camp, and guess he
would have gone through it and into the
siye-, but for the defence erected by
'Joih.n He struck the vines with a
great crash, and was sprung back and
lolled of his feet by the rebound. He
by as If stunned for full minute, and
lad been on the ground I could have
passed a rope around one of his legs and
made him fast to a tree When he got
sp his eyes fell upon hat which one of
the natives had dropped, and he cha ged
it. The charge took him back toward the
swamp. and he kept going on till out of
our sight.
We passed the rest of the day in erect
Jag defences about our camps, and next
day was ready with a new idea in rhi-
nocer0s hunting. Indeed had two Of
them The natives scattered through
the swamp to investigate and when they
they reported trails leading in
every direction. Three black rhinoceri
had been seen but not disturbed, and it
was evident that "old game" would be
on hand whenever wanted. l returned
TO the swamp with them, and selecting
spot where a wide. beaten trail ran in a
straight line for about fifty rods. we dug
a PIT twelve feet long, six feet wide, and
four feet deep. We lined the edges with
stakes to prevent the earth caving in,
and then made neat job of covering 1t
over. At the end Of the pit toward
camp I planted a red flag and covered
the staff with straw hat
VIII lie the black rhinoceros has no fear
and wiz charge an elephant as soon as a
dog if once aroused, he is very suspicious
and crafty when not excited. We |
knew that it was vain to hope one would ,
charge the flag and thus fall into the pit
if in pursuit of one of the men, and af- :
ter dinner called up all the blacks and :
told them my plan. 1t was for the best /
runner among them TO strip himself Of ,
all superfuous clothing. hunt up
fhinooeros and provoke the creature into
him along the path made ready
for the purpose. My offer of gun to :
any one who would do this brought for
yard six men, and Ispeedily made So