The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-03-04

came no nearer, although they moved
| around and around US In clumsy cir
Gle. The scene was strikingIy weird
those hulking gray bodies fitting
through the darkness all about us.
Suddenly there was shrek of
"Faru" from our natives, and with
one accord they made for the trees.
The ponderous animals were charging
down toward the camp.
Here come the gallant six hundred"
observed O'Sullivan, and hurriedly
swung himself into a tree. The
Frenehman and I also clambered up
and got our heavy guns ready.
OSullivan was literally bubbling
over with gayety, in spite of the seri-
BUSINESS Of the situation
4 "Hooroo!' he yelled, as the great
brutes came tearing through the
brushhood, leaving a clear space be-
hind them. Here come the road MAX
4 ers.'' T.
i And here goes the gravemaker,'
said De Rubempre, coolly taking aim,
with his rifle resting on a branch. On
came the monsters at numbering gal
| lop. A shot rang out, and down went
heavy mass, raising a thick cloud of
gray dust and shaking the ground. "
4 Bravo! Good shot" shouted O'Sul-
i Ivan. Your turn, Schembeck."
i had been aiming already, and when
he spoke pressed the trigger, but as
fired the brute was aiming at Stun
bled over, fallen. trunk and came
down on its knees, SO that my bullet
only buried itself in the broad back.
Bal luck" cried Bevis. MY turn
now. Here's for the leader
| The Irishman's bullet brought down
giant animal, which lay on the
ground struggling, kicking and making
an awful uproar. The scene was now
a veritable pandemonium. Stamping
rhinoceroses, screaming natives in
trees, Bevis shouting out mad jokes.
and the rapid reports of the rifles com
bined to produce a bewildering uproar.
4 Clouds had by this time hidden the
moon, and we could hardly see to
shoot. The intruding animals We're now
in among the campfires, and in the
ltWinkling of an eye the flames to the
last ember were trodden out. Dimly
we could see our beds being stamped
under foot and scattered and the
. packs hurled this way and that Then
for a few minutes we fired a little
more surely, for the moon showed it.
self again, and five dead animals soon
lay stiff on the ground, while not few
others We're badly wounded. 's
u Having vented their rage on mani
mate things, the great brutes began to
think of the men. H.. ~.
i One of the natives, paralyzed with
fear, had been unable to climb a tree,
and was Row staring at the rhinoceros-
A es over the top Of a thick prickly bush.
Our attention was drawn to the man
for the first time by one of the ami
mails stopping short and smiling round.
4 1t did not see the man, but scented
him, and with a below Of fury it went
for the bush like a hurricane. vi
/ We yelled out to the native to save
himself and, reused from his stupor,
The sprang to his feet and raced away,
with the animal after him. I slipped a
little further down the tree and called
to him, whereupon he swerved rapidly
from his course and came toward me,
while the leviathan stopped short,
lploughing up the ground with its
heavy feet Finally it turned, for all
the world like a clumsy mastiff puppy,
and resumed the chase.
1 The screaming native ran toward my
tree, and r. held out my hand and
dragged him up, telling him to climb
up higher. He did not need to sbe told
twice, and went up as high as he could.
Luckily for him, as the sequel will
show, it was not, tall tree. a.,
The great animal, with ponderous
tread, came on after him. Arrived at
i the foot of the tree it stood still, APP
/ parently astonished at the natives dis
i appearance, and then aimed a. vicious
blow ait the tree trunk with its sharp
horn. did not intend to let it demol-
ish my perch so easily, so I slipped
down to the bottom branch and, lean
j ing forward, held my rifle point blank
at it's ear and pressed the trigger. Such
a shot is fatal, and I had the satisfac-
ton of seeing 1t waver, take a few
/ steps, and then fall with a crash, its
whole weight resting against the tree,
which bent like a cane. clutched
/ wildly at the branch to prevent my
self falling, and nearly dropped my
rifle, while a crashing, rending noise,
followed by a shrek from above, told
that some one had been dislodged by
the shock. Branch after branch was
snapped by the falling of some heavy
body, until finally it hit the stronger
boughs and bounced off to the ground
I realized then that the native in his
terror had climbed too high up, where
the branches could hardly bear him,
and the sudden jerk had hurled him
down.
For minute I thought another rhi-
noceros would come. and crush him be-
fore he could get up again, but to my
establishment he rose to his feet and
limped away at good rate into the
bushes. Evidently he did not intend to
trust to treetops again.
For g. short while longer the rhinoce-
roses wandered about the camp, and
then their interest shifted to our wag-
on, which they surrounded with the
\ evident intention of upsetting it. They
had not sufficient sense, however, to