The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-10-14
A SAVAGE BEAST.

Nothing ana ls Always READY Ior y
Fight.
New York Commercial Advertiser: I
have helped to capture six African
rhlnoceroses, and believe that all OF
them are yet alive and serving their
purposes in clrcuses and ZOOS. have
seen herd of twenty wild elephants
driven into an inclosure and made cap
tive almost without trouble. / have
trapped four and 1--WE lions and tigers in
week, with never a man even scratch
ed. AS for wolves and hyenas. they can
be caught as readily as fish. It's when
you tackle a rhinoceros that you tao
kle business. It's worry and work and
danger from the Moment you set about
IT. 1 am talking about the one-horned,
black rhIneroceros of Africa. When
nature 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 hawk, a sense OF
hearing as keen as FOX, and his Cour-
age is really sublime. You may add to
all this that the rhinoceros is al-
WAYS mad. The fiercest Of other beasts
have their good natured hours. but this
fellow always has a chip on his Shout
der, Nothing is too big or too small for
him to charge. H'll turn on steam and
10 crashing through the bushes after n
jackal at one time. and an hour later
will charge into a herd Of elephants or
scatter family OF lions. 1t is agreed
by all men who have studied him that
he is totally without fear. II he ever
runs away from anything It is through
mistake. But for two defects In his
physical makeup he'd soon eXtermi-
nate all other animals In Africa. His
range Of vision is like that Of a whale
dead ahead-and he is so bulky for his
size that he can't turn except in con-
siderable circle.
1 captured Barnum's first rhinocer-
os, 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 1t
all to learn. l sent home lions, 81
RATES., elephants. buffalues, and hyen1s
without any great trouble, but 1t was u
whole year before l got my first rhln-
oceros. / had to make study OF the
animal and take advantage Of his char
acterlstlcs. The natives had killed one
occasionally, but such thing as cap
turing one alive had never been heard
Of. II seemed to me that the easiest
way was to moose him. There are well
defined paths all through the forests OF
Africa, and these are used more or less
III oil
lead to water. / made n moose In a
new two-inch rope big enough TO take
in q rhInoceros. and then climbed into
n tree above to manage 1t. spent the
best part OF three days up there before
a victim came nlong. He scented me
and was suspicious but nevertheless
came on and was neatly noosed. be-
lIeVe that rope would have held n
schooner at anchor OF Montauk Point,
but that rhinOcerOs made one plunge
and broke Il like n thread. / hadn't
realized his strength up to that time.
My next move was to seek point on n
path several miles from camp and erect
a barricade. This bGrrlcade ran TO n
V-shaped point, and was made strong
enough to hold an elephant. II rhln-
oceros took that path he would follow
II to the last inch, and when he was in
close quarters we would be on hand to
tangle him up. We had visitor all
most before we were ready. When the
rkinoceros got along to the barricade he
baIe.d for a minute to snlff the air.
Then he lowered his head and went
charging down the path.
believed we had him for sure, but he
struck the logs and rocks ut the point
OF the V with the power Of u wild loco
motive and battered his way through. l
now turned to pit. At soft spot on
path leading to water-hole we dug
pit twenty feet long, ten feet wide and
poles, branches and dirt, until no one
could detect the danger lurking be-
meath. but we had our trouble for our
reward. The rhlnoceros does most Of
his roaming by day, and is careless
whether he follows n path or crashes
! through the bushes The night after
| the pit was ready we caught two hye-
mas in II. The next day we cauEht n
deer, the next night another hyena. The
one animal we wanted did not appear.
We tried again at another point, and
| this time II was success, because l
had the details more In hand. When the
pit had been prepared | went up the
path about half n mile to an opening
| and hung n red shirt on bush. | knew
| that II a rhinoceros sighted that shirt
he would charge the bush. climbed q
tree and waited, and In less than an
hour I heard an old fellow coming full
tilt. He went through the bush ike an
avalanche, and on the path he found II
red handkerchief. He picked It 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 trap. He was dustlug
along at twenty miles an hour when the
| earth gave way and he landed on his
head at the bottom OF the pit We Ind
n time getting him out and into cage.
and don't believe he ever got over be-
ing mad.
IAN my subsequent captures, with
one exception, were made IN the same
way but we dug ten different pits for
every capture. and II was weeks be-
/ tween them. The exception was cur
ious case. with seven or eight natives
following me In Indian file. I WIS walk
lng In path through the woods, or Il
sudden there was cry Of alarm from
| the renrmost native. a rhinoccr15 had
entered the path. caught sight of MS and
was charging. We sprnug into the
bushes right and left. and he wasn't ten
| feet away when | left the pnth. Being
under full Roadway ne kent on FOR n
hundred feet and then left the path
himself. As he did 80 he ran between
two trees growing cl1se together His
weight and impetus bent them aside for
| the moment. but Rs they came back
! they caught him Just forward N tho
hlps and he was held fast. Their was
fun around there for time, The old