Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1899-11-09
THE SAVAGE RHINocERos.
Taking Him Is n Dangerous Task
Fears Nothing and Is Always
Ready for n Fight.

them are yet alive and serving their
d purposes in circuses and ZOOS. l have
seen a herd Of 20 wild elephants driven
into an inclosure and made captive al
most without trouble. / have trapped
four and five lions and tigers in a week,
with never a man even scratched. As
for wolves and hyenas, they can be
caught as readily as fish. It's when you
tackle a rhinoceros that you tackle
business. It's worry and work and dan
ger from the moment you set about II.
1 am talking about the one-horned,
black rhinoceros of Africa When ma
ture created him she gave him more
strength according to bulk than any
other animal on earth. She gave him
an abundance of muscle and but few
nerves. He has a hide almost bullet
proof, a vision like a hawk, a sense Of
hearing as keen as n fox, and his cour-
age is really sublime. You may add to
all this that the rhinoceros is always
mad. The fiercest of other beasts have
their good-natured hours, but this fel-
low always has a chip on his shoulder.
Nothing is too big or too small for him
20 charge He'll turn on steam and go
crashing through the bushes after
iaclal at one time, and an hour later
will charge into herd Of elephants or
scatter a family of lions. 1t is agreed
bv all men Who have studied him that
he is totally without fear. If he ever
runs away from anything il is through
anFarre in nfE
physical makeup he'd soon eXterminate
all other animals in Africa. His range Of
vision is like that of a whale-dead
ahead-and be is so bulky for his size
that he can't turn except in a consid-
cradle circle.
1 Icaptured Barnum's first rhinoceros,
and that animal cost him more than any
four lions or tigers he ever owned.
was the first animal hunter sent over
TO Africa by an American, and had il
all 10 learn. l sent home lions. giraffes,
elephants, buffaloes and hyenas with
out any great trouble, but it was
whole year before got my first rhinoc-
eros. I had TO make study Of the
animal and take advantage of his char
acteristics. The natives had killed one
occasionally, but such a thing as cap
turing one alive had Neyer been heard
of. Il seemed 10 me that the easiest
wav was 10 moose him. There are well
defined paths ali through the forests
of Africa. and these are used more or
less by all animals, especially where
they lead 10 water. made a moose in
4 new two-ineh rope big enough 10
take in a rhinoceros, and then climbed
into a tree above TO manage H. l spent
the best part of three days up there
before a victim came along. Hessented
me and was suspicious, but neverthe-
less came on and was neatly noosed.
1 believe that rope would have held
schooner at anchor off Montauk Point,
but that rhinoceros made one plunge
and broke il like a thread. L hadn't
realized his strength up TO that time.
Ny next move was TO seek a point on
path several miles from camp and erect
a barricade. This barricade ran TO
V-shaped point, and was made strong
enough 10 hold an elephant. If
rhinoceros took that path he would fol-
low il TO the last inch, and when he was
in close quarters we would be on hand
to tangle him up. We had a visitor
almost before we were ready. When
the rhinoceros got along 10 the barri-
cade he halted for a minute TO sniff the
air. Then he lowered his head and
went charging down The path.
l believed we had him for sure, but be
struck the logs and rocks At the point
of the V with the power of a wild loco
motive and battered his way through.
I now turned TO a pit. At a soft spot
on 4 path leading TO a water hole we
dug pit 20 feet long. 10 feet wide and
feet deep. This we covered with
poles, branches and dirt, until no one
could detect the danger lurking be
meath. but we had our trouble for our
reward. The rhinoceros does most Of
his roaming by day, and is careless
whether he follows a path ol crashes
through the bushes. The night after
the pit was ready we caught two hyenas
in il. The next day we caught a deer,
the next night another hyena. The one
animal we wanted did not appear. We
tried again at another point, and this
time it was a success, because 1 had
the details more in hand. When the pit
had been prepared I went up the path
about half a mile TO an opening and
hung q red shirt on bush. knew that
II a rhinoceros sighted that shit. he
would charge the bush. I climbed a
tree and waited. and IN less than aa
hour I heard an old fellow coming full
tilt. He went through the bush like
an avalanche, and on the path he found
q red handkerchief. lie picked IL up
on his horn and charged down the
path. On the far side OF the pit was
another red shirt, and in his anger the
beast didn't look for a trap. He was
dusting along at 20 miles an hour when
the earth gave way and he landed on his
head at the bottom of the pit. We had
time getting him out and into cage.
and don't believe he ever got over be-
ing mad.-N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.
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1t has been noted that in the surgical
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has been changed, and there is no doubt
that the electric current has a direct
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er impossible, nor even improbable,