The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1889-08-10
TRAPPING A RHINocERos
Sport That Requires an Unlimited
Amount of CooIness and Courage.

I Sport That Requires Unlimited
Amount of CooIness and Courage.
A traveller with three Dutch hunters
had some exciting adventures in the
Transvaal country, a few months ago,
in attempting to capture rhinoceros.
They came upon a big two-horned fell
low suddenly one morning, and had to
"climb tree" to escape his horns.
The animal made for the tent of
the party, short distance away, but
a system of simple defense, of wire
brush, foiled him, and he made off.
A pit was dug in the swamp, and a
nice. fat native, which is calculated to
make almost any rhinoceros hungry,
sent out to decoy the prey. Soon after
they heard the shril notes of the So
called rhinoceros bird, which is inva-
riably found in t'ze company of the
beast.
1t is asserted that the bird consti-
tutes himself the sentinel of the lum-
bering behemoth, and that its cries
are uttered to warn him that danger is
near
The native came through the clear
ing with the old fellow in tow. The
native had about thirty feet the start,
and when they passed our mound he
had lost five feet of that, although rum
ming like an express train.
The rhinoceros was a big one, un-
usually black, and he ran with his
snout down and his tail erect. We
cheered the native to encourage him,
and away the two went up the trail we
had tampered with.
Had the race been ten yards longer,
the native would have had to leave the
path to avoid death. AS he neared the
pit, he ran along the right-hand edge
of it, while the rhinoceros thundered
along the center.
He was within twelve feet of the
heels of the runner, when his feet let
go of solid earth and plunged him
head-frst into the pit. We heard him
grunt from where we stood, and it was
plain that his tumble had knocked the
breath out of him.
AS he struck he rolled over on his
right side, and when we reached the
pit he was helpless.
When he got it through his thick
head that he had been fooled, he was
the maddest beast in all Africa, but
it was too late for action.
We had come prepared for just such
job as we now had on hand. The
huge animal must be got aboard the
barge, but we were in no hurry to be-
gin.
We got our ropes and chains ashore,
drove stout stakes where they would
be wanted, and moved the barge to
the lower end of the DIur. By This
time it was dark, and we tied the old
fellows hind legs together and left
him.
After breakfast next morning we
first hObbled our prisoner, and then
hOisted him out of the pit The first
thing he did was to make a rush, but
it was failure.
We got purchase tackles on him,
and led them away to trees and sta
pies, and by these means we checked
him up or warped him along as willed.
All we had to do was to keep clear of
his wicked horns.
By noon we had him safe aboard the
barge, One-half of which was given
him. We had managed his capture
without infiicting an injury.
He was landed in Hamburg without
piece of skin rubbed off. and is no
doubt alive at this writing. His age
was estimated at thirty years when
captured, and he was considered good
for fifty or sixty years more.-Golden
Days.