Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-31
.EDDYVILLE MAN
TELLS OF JUNGLE
INTERESTING TALE OF CAPTURE
OF BABY RHINocERos TOLD
BY w. T. HoRNADY
Young Brute Three Weeks Old Drags
Man For Over Half an Hour-carry
the Infant Ninety Miles on Poles
Exercise Aboard Ship.

New York, Jan. 29--W T. Horna-
day, formerly Of Eddyville, Iowa, now
director of the New York Geological
Park has just given an interesting &C.
count of the capture of baby African
rhinoceros. The young animal Is the
newest addition to the park collection
and is by far the most important one
of late.
Mr. Hornaday had obtained the de-
tails from Herbert o. Lang, a taxider-
mist for the American Museum OF Ma
tural History. Lang in a trip of East
African exploration was the compan-
ion of Richard Tjader, who was large.
ly instrumental in the securing of the
animal for the geological society.
Captured by Austrian.
| "Both of the young rhinoceroses
now in the park" said Mr.. Hornaday,
were captured in about the same To-
cality in German East Africa, near
Lake Victoria Nyanza and the border
of British East Africa. Our new baby
was the prize of an Austrian named
Fleischer, who was hunting south
east of the lake about the middle Of
last July, having only small party
of natives and being rather poorly
equipped. He caught sight of female
rhinoceros with a young calf by her
side and he wanted the calf, which
/ he knew would be worth good money
If he could get it to the coast.
Now, the Africans natives are very
much afraid of the rhinoceros AS
soon, therefore, as Fletcher began 10
stalk the female, his followers fled,
leaving him all alone. He succeeded
in shooting her, and as she fell he
dropped his gun, rushed forward, and
seized the baby rhinoceros. Although
only a few weeks old, 1t was then
large enough and strong enough 20
make it we'll nigh impossible to hold
it. He grasped the calf around the
neck, however, and he held on while
it dragged him over the rough ground
and through the thorny bushes for
nearly half an hour. His clothes were
torn to shreds and he was cut and
scratched by the wait-a-bit thorns,
familiar to African explorers.
Carried 1t Ninety Miles.
despite all this. Fleischer held on
until the calf became so exhausted
that he could control it. Finally his
native followers came back to his as
slStance and the prisoner was Cnen Sc
curely tied. 1t was found, however,
that the creature was SO obstinate and
combative that the captors could
neither lead nor drive it. AS it alb
solutely refused to go on the hoof
they tied its legs together, thrust a
long pole between them, and, with the
animal swinging under the pole, back
downward, carried it on six days
journey, covering ninety miles.
''In the early part of this journey
the head of the calf was left hanging
and this caused the animal to strug
gle continuously. so that there was
danger of it's killing itself through ex
haustion. To remedy this, large
piece of coarse cloth was slung under
the pole like hammock. and, being
d supported by this means, the infant
" rhinoceros ceased to struggle. During
all this perior it was fed on unsweet
ened condensed milk, and very soor
afterward it began to eat grass. A
mother rhinoseros gives but a small
quantity of milk, and the young begir
to Craze when only few weeks old
Taken to Railway.
"The captive, which is a male, was