The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-02-16

pected. therefore. this animal is conveyed
to the scene of fhe hunt on q cart. seated on
the outside OF his Gags beside his master,
who has his arm our him. he IL blind
Cd by n hood. like a falcon. and sits upright
like q dog. waiting for his eyes 10 be I'M
covered. After a successful hnnt tne cnee.
tab in allowed TO lap % quantity OF fresh
blood from q wooden ladle. The ladle.
consequently has for him the same attsac-
ton AZ Is lure for q falcon or a sieve oil
oats for a horse. by showing 1t 70 him you
can recover the cheefah when he is dis
obedient to a call.
There in a marked difference between the
Indian rEinoccros. the unicorn" of the
ancients. which has but one o ness. ON
the average. than eigh. inches long,, and
the African rhinoceros. that has two horns,
of which the anterior prOtubcrauce - very
long and straight. The ke:loa. or blsgk,
rhiuoceros. which inhabits tina country
east of the White Nile. FROM Abyssinia 20
near the equator. il pronounced by Sir
Samuel Baker the most ferocious of known
animals. II will attack either man or beast
without the slightest proyocation. The
longest anterior horn belonging to any OF
tho black Yhinoceros shot by Sir Samuel
himself measured twenty-:hree inches. The
speed and the bottom exhibited by this
animal seem remarkable when its bulk is
considered. The author Of this book has
hunted in company with Arabs, snd
although fheis horses wonld go their best
for at least two miles they wOnld be
fore reaching an impenetrabls jungle.
There is considerable danger in
shooting this animal. owing to the difficulty
of stopping his charge. His forehead 10
inpegefrabie, n so tough and thick Is h1s
skin that a specially hardened bullet Is PEE
ferred to one of pnre lead.
Next TO the elephant. the hugest beast in
point of bulk and weight is the h~ippOpota-
,nus. OF this animal Sir Samuel Baker has
seen hundreds of specimens on the White
Nile. One that he measured Was fourteen
feet three inches long from snout to tip of
tail. The crocodile never ventures to at
tack the hippo sctamus. which. for Its part,
dIsdairs TO attack the crocodile. Although
like the rhinoceros. this monarch of mid
African rivers is not carnivorous. il is
very formidable to man. being easily
provoked and asssiiiLg the object of it's
resentment with reckless fury. 1t can up
set the largest boat. n in one instance
perforated With its tusks the iron bottom of
Sir samueiss steamer. causing a dangerous
leak. The flesh of the hipropotamus il
always paIatsbie. and, when the animal is
young, it il delicious. The skin makes ex-
ceilent turtle soup. The tusks were former
~ more yaInable than those of the elephant.
being III request by dentists because they
never turn yellow.
At the tegiDnins of this century. the
price Of hippopotamus iyors WAS $685. per
pound. Since tie American invention of
porcelain enamel for artificial teeth. it il
NO longer sought for. ard the value of the
animal depends At p-esen. on the hide and
tine fat. The latter resembles lard, and the
former is Ized for whips. A hippopotamus
differs from most aquatic animals in this
particular that. instead of diving head
frst. it sinks backward and disap-
pears by throwing the nose upward.
There is. also. a marked difference
between this beast and the crocodile
as regards the power OF remaining under
water. The former. Notwithstanding its
! I.rgs, must come up to breathe
il ten minutes At the longest. whereas the
crocodile can stay beneath the surface for
almost any length of time. The crocodile
has the power Of living, through the hot
season. in a torpid state. buried in the
] mud, which dries and harjens above hin
When the mud ID softened in the rainy sea
! gOE. the animal resnBe3 its activity. 1T
seems that cIocodileS measuring twenty
two feet In length have frequently been
killed. There il no doubt that one of these
could swallow an ordinary human being.
: A large specimen having been killed and
( cut open il Geylon. the body of a native
was found III it's stomach. We may note.
finally. that Whatever may have been true
at tine beginning OF this century. the tough
scales OF the crocodile are no longer bullet
proof. 4 hardened, solid bH.ist. propelled
BY SIX drains of powder, will drive through
a crocodile as though its hide were made Of
paper.