Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-12-18
DAILY SHORT STORY
Big Gun Hunting.
copyright, 1903. by c. B. Lewis.l

weeks a British survey steamer came
in TO fill up her crew. She had been
surveying up the Congo and was bound
south to the Great Fish river. The
steamer carried forty men all told and
was QUILTED with two 9-poundcrS
and plenty of small arms. She had
lost five men up the Congo by fever,
and when l offered myself l was at
once taken.
I'VE were a week working up to the
forks of the Great Orange river, and
then the fun began. The Great Fish.
for about 100 miles above the forks. is
about as wide as the Hudson, with a
depth of from four 10 seven fathOms.
There never was an hour in the day
that we couldn't see elephants, lions
or rhinOceroSeS along the shores.
I'VE had been steaming slowly up
stream for about ten days before the
river narrowed to about half its for
mer width, and then we began to have
trouble with the natives. They had
no firearms, but they could hurl lances
or shoot arrows from the banks to the
steamer, and we had to be on the
dodge all the time. Our 9-pounders
were kept loaded, and now and then
when the black fellows got too daring
we sent a shell whiZZing among the
thickets and scared them half to death.
'One day, when the fringe of forest
along the right bank suddenly ended
and gave place to long stretch of
grassy plain, we came to anchor. and
three of the survey men landed to
stir up a big rhinOcerOs who could be
seen standing under n tree half Il mile
back from the water. They were young
fellows and full of daring. and l heard
the captain caution them when they
left the steamer.
I'VE could see all that subsequently,
took place. The old rhino had never
seen Il steamer before, but he wasn't
Il bit curious. If he had ever seen
hunters before he had no fear of them.
He just stood there in the shade, bows
on to us. and didn't trouble to figure
out what might happen. The three
men separated on landing to get in
the rear of the big beast and cut off
his escape, but he wasn't thinking of
running away. He let two of the men
creep up till within range. and it seem
ed to us as if we heard the thud of
their bullets when they struck against
his thick hide. They were ounce bull
lets, driven by big charges of powder.
but they might as we'll have been fired
against a stone wall. The rhino gave
a start as they struck him, and then
down went his head and up went his
tail. and he charged at the man who
was creeping head on.
THE surveyors had made q mess
of the thing. and there was bound to
be a calamity. They had taken the
rhino for a noodle head. whereas he
knew his business to dot The man
at whom he charged mad no cover eX-
cept here and there q bush. | don't
know whether he should have run to
the right or left or stood still, but
what he did do was to fling down his
gun and make back for the river He
had pretty near half mile to go. and
he was a good Splinter, but that rhino
had a full head of sail on him.
He came OH like a ship running
before 81 hurricane, and about ten rods
from the bank he overlook the fleeing
man and tossed him ten feet into the
aiF. AS the body came down he caught
it and tossed it again and then flung
it about in Il way that could have left
no life in it after few minutes.
1.-The other chaps pluckily ran down
and fired two bullets apiece into the
. beast. but when he charged them they
made n bolt for and climbed the tree
under which he had been standing at
first When he found them beyond
his reach the rhino began running
about in Il circle, and it was then
that we cleared away one of the
8 Founders and opened fire on him. As
he was on the move the first two shells
didn't even throw dirt on him. but
the third struck him fair amidships
and exploded
Another boat was sent ashore, and
was one of those who landed from it.
We found the surveyor dead and with
every bone broken. and as for the
rhinO he was a sight to see.
1.-TWO nights after that and twenty
miles above we anchored in midstream
| for the night. 1t was bright moon
| light night. and up to midnight things
passed off very quietly. Then a troop
| of elephants came down to the shore to
drink. 1t was in my watch, and
counted fourteen big fellows and two
kids. They were just opposite us and
not over forty rods away, but were not
| at all alarmed by our presence.
After drinking and splashing around
for awhile, two big bulls got into a
row. | couldn't make out the cause of
it, but they hadn't been scrapping over
two minutes when the rest of the herd
Joined in, and there was row to beat
the band. Some of the officers brought
their rifles on deck and opened fire,
and the captain ordered us to raise Il
shout, but the elephants had got their
mad up and couldn't be frightened off
by popguns. Then we were ordered TO
slew a 9-pounder around to bear on
the mob. 1t was loaded with a per-
cussiOn shell. and the target was too
big to be missed at that short distance.
That shell went through one elephant
from port to starbOard without burst
ing but it struck n big bone in the next