The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1904-03-19
BIG GUN
HUN TIN g.

| said n sailor 10 me the other day, and
when | had been there Tor couple of
FL KS q British survey steamer came
III to fll ZIP her ere" -'c had been
surveying up the CONGO ana was bound
south to the Great Fish river. Tie
steamer carried forty mon MI told and
was Quilted with two 9-pounder>
and plenty of small Ans. She had
lost five men up thee-cehsa- by fever
and when offered lH%s II was ut
1 once taken.
I'VE were a week working mp TO the
FORKS OF the Great Orange river, aud
/ then the fun began. Che Great Fish
/ for about loo miles aboy2 the forks, is
1 about as wide as the Hudson, With a
/ depth of from four to seven fathoms.
/ There never was an hour in the day
| that we couldn't see lvte chants lions
or rhinoceroSes along the shores
I'VE had been stcaming 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 frelH tie banks to Tile
I steamer. and we-tIad- 10 he on the
dodge ufl-the time, Our apounders
We're kept loaded. and new and then
when the bluck fellows got too daring
we sent n shell whining Among the
thickets and scared them half to death.
Zone day, When the fringe of forest
along the right bank Sliddenly ended
and gave place TO Il long stretch of
grassy plain, we came TO anchor, and
three of the survey men landed to
stir up big rhinoccros who could be
seen standing under a tree half Il mile
back from the water They We're Young
fellows and full of daring, and heard
the captain caution them when they
left the steamer.
1--WE could see all that subsequently
took place. The old lhjno had never
seen a steamer >beforc, but lie wasn't
bit curious. If he bad 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 whaf might happen The three
men separated OH landing to set in
the rear Of the big beast and cut off
his escape, but he wasn't thinking OF
running away. He iEt two OF tie men
creep up till within range. and II seem.
ed to us rs il we heard the thud OF
their bullets when they. struck against
his thick hide They were ounce bul
lets, driven by big charges Of powder,
but they might as well have been fired
against stone wall The rhino gave
a start rs they struck him, and then
down went his head and UP went his
tail, and lie charged nj the man-wao
was creeping head on
",rhe surveyors Ind made n mess
Of the thing, and there was bound to
be Il calamity They had taken the
rhino for noodle head, whereas he
knew his business to il dot. The man
at whom he charged had no cover cN-
cept here and there a bush. l 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 a mile to 20. and
be was good sprintor. but that rhine
had Il full head of sail on him.
Gle came on like a ship running
before hurricane. and about ten rods
from the bank he overlook the fleeing
man and tossed him ten feet into the
air. As the body came downAhc caught
1t and tossed 1t again and then flung
it about il. a way that could have left
no life in it after few minutes.
..rhe other-ehaps pluckily ran down
and fired two bullets apiece into the
beast but when lac charged them they
made Il bolt for and climbed the tree
under which he had been standing mt
first, When he found them beyond
about in a circle, and II was then
that we cleared away one Of the
Founders and opened fire Oh him. As
he was on the move the first two sheiis
didn't even throw dirt on him. but
the third struck him fair amidshps
and exploded.
"Another boat was sent ashore, ana
| was one of those who landed from It,
We found the surveyor dead and with
every bone broken, ;, and as for tn"
rhno he was sight TO see.
1.-TWO nights after that and twenty
miles above we anchored in midstreaIn
for the night 1t was bright moon
light night. and up to midnight things
passed off rery quietly. Then troop
of elephants came down to the shore to
drink 1t WAS in my watxii,s and i
counted fourteen big feliows=a i4d=tH:o-
kids. They were lust opposite Us and
not over forty rods away,but were not
at all alarmed by our presence. n
"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 a row to beat
/ the band Some Of the officers brought
! their rifles on deck and opened fire,
and the captain ordered us 10 raise a
Shout, but the elephants had got their
mad up and cotlldn tgbc frightened off
by popguns. Then we were ordered to
slew 9-poundcr around to bear on
/ the mob. 1t was loaded with per-
cussion shell, and the target was too
big to be missed al that short distance
That shell went through one elephant
from port to starboard without burst.
ing, but it struck big bone in the next
and exploded and killed two others and
wounded three The dead ones lay
right there In the water next morning,