The record-union., 1894-06-16
AN ENORMOUS BRUTE.
The White Rhnoceros is Fast Becom-
ing Extinct.
Very Fond of Sleep, and While in This
Condition Not Easily Awakened
Description of Hunt.

It is more than probable that before
the close of the century the white rhinoc-
eros. the largest of all the mammals after
the elephant. will be extinct There are
but very few preserved specimens in ex-
istence to give the natural history student
of the future an idea of its enormous size
and peculiar structure. It is now gen.
orally recognized that there are in Africa
only two varieties of the rhinoceros, the
black and the white. The old Dutch ele-
phant hunters always believed in several,
advancing as their reason the dlHerent
lengths of the anterior horn, and judging
entirely by this standard. Both sorts are
EASY TO SHOOT,
And it is no wonder when long train
of carriers has to be fed, or when natives
are hunting for supply OF meat to carry
back to their kraaIs, that rhinoceros
was always shot in preference to buck,
wary and difficult to stalk as are the lat
ter. and as q rule more tenacious OF life
Furthermore, it is natural that the white
rhinoceros should be shot IN preference
TO the black, for it generally carries
good deal more fat, is very much larger
more valuable horns.
The main points of difference between
the two species are the shape of the
mouth and the manner of feeding. The
Bicornis has a prehensile upper lip and
much smaller head altogether than the
Sinus; he feeds eEirely upon leaves
and twigs, and prefers rough, bushy,
inhospItable county; he is wary and shy,
QUICK TO ANGER
-
and suspicious. The Sinus has a dispro-
portionately large head, with great jaw
which is cut quite square in front, and
the great rubber-like lips are suited for
the grass upon which he feeds entirely,
though in the autumn and winter, when
the grass over vast stretches Of country
has been burnt away, it is a puzzle how
ne manages to get enough to sustain his
great hulk. He carries his head very
low, and has long ears slightly tipped
with curly black hair; ne is not SO lnQ U.S.
tive or suspicious as his black brother,
and is slightly more sluggish in his move
ments, though upon occasion he can cover
the ground with unexpected speed.
Another curious fact is that the calf of
the Sinus will always run in front of the
cow, while the calf of the Bicornis invari-
ably follows its mother; this habit never
varies. They drink every day, or rather
every night, and, as a rule, do not go
down to the water
TILL AFTER MIDNIGHT.
When the sun gets very warm they gen
orally enjoy a sIesta, sometimes in the
bush, and sometimes out in the glaring,
Quivering heat; and though they will oc-
casionally be in thick. bushy country,
they do not make point of choosing the
deepest shade. When fairly asleep they
do not waken easily, and they may then
be easily shot or photographed.
In the first few days of January. 1898. L
started alone from Salisbury and entered
Northeast Mashonaland. For five days,
from sunrise till dark, l patrolled and
quartered every yard Of the country for
good number of miles, and on the sixth
day l saW-though so far off that they
appeared just as dark speckS-two of the
huge brutes l was searching for. The
first thing to do, of course, was to get be-
low the wind, as when they were first
sighted the wind blew directly from me
to them. In an hours time l was crawl
ing toward them through the fringe of
bush that lay about 80 yards below the
open position they had chosen for their
midday siests. 1 thought they might
GIVE Me SOME TROUBLE,
So L took my colored boy with me-he
could shoot rather well and carried sim
gle tWelYe-bore rifle. AS 1 erawled on
my stomach toward them with the great
est DOSSlDi6 care, L SAW Ou0 Vi Lu6u udu
become suspicious and had got on to his
feet, evidently much disturbed. When l
saw this | tiattened myfelf as much as
possible into the sharp grass stubble and
black asb-this latter the result of de-
vastating grass fire which had occurred a
few weeks before. It seemed hours be-
fore this very painful crawl brought me to
the small tuft of dry grass was making
for. Alter waiting TOR some time L was
relieved to see the other brute stand up.
| whispered to the boy, and then knelt
right up. The larger bull was on the left,
almost facing me- the other stood broad
side on. 1 did not wish to break any of
the great bones, so l did not fire at the
point of the shoulder-which would have
been the usual shot under the ciroum
stances-but put the bullet from the ten
bore Paradox" between the first two
ribs and into the lung. AS the
HUGE BRUTE SPUN ROUND
I put the second shot behind the ribs: it
travelled forward, and also, | found after
ward, reached the lungs.
The boys rifle went off almost stimuli
taneously with my first shot, and as the
rhinOceroses went Oft in the opposite di-
rection we jumped up and followed them
at our best pace. For over mile the old
bull went like a steam engine; he grad
ually, however, settled down, and l came
up and gave him two more bullets from
behind; this helped him on again, but not
for more than half mile. l soon ran up
to him, and found him beginning to stag
ger, for all this time he had been throw
ing blood by the gallon from his nostrils.
One more shot finished him, aud he sunk
down with kind of q sob, the buffalo
birds left him, and with shrill notes of
alarm they flew up, and circling for few
minutes over Us, they disappeared in the
direction the other rhinoceros had taken.
I was completely exhausted by the severe
run, and, taking out my pipe, sat down
for a short rest upon the huge gray head.
The second bull succumbed about half q
mile from where 1 had first fired.
1t is a curious fact that under the skin
of these two animals I found six native
bullets, which they must have carried
with them for years.-Pall Mall Budget.
pTANuT pENnEPS