Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1907-12-20
THE STUPID RHINocERos.
Relies Principally on His Wonderful
Sense Of Smell.


Sense Of Smell.
He Is stupid beast-this rhlno-ap
/ parently not using his sight to any
great extent, but relying on a wonder.
| full sense Of smell and very disturb
ing ability to hear. Once he strikes q
scent that is Irritating to his temper or
| hears sound that dissatisfes him he
takes an instant to decide the direc-
ton, and then putting down hts iuge
ugly head SO that his big horn is ready
FOR business he charges at the top Of
his speed in a perfectly straight line,
making terrible rumpus over 1t. You
only have to jump few feet to one
side or the other, and he will go tear
ing by and keep on going until he is
tired. l let one go by because condi-
lions did not admit of my stopping him
and then climbed little tree and fol-
lowed him with field glass as he tore
along In cloud of dust for over two
miles.
Another time one Of the men gave a
grunt spoke the one word "kifaru'
and pointed to black spot half mile
away which under the glass turned
out to be one of the strange, cumber-
some beasts we were looking for He
showed very good front horn, and
the boys both agreed that he was
reasonably good man."
1t was only few moments when we |
could hear the rhino moving toward US
dead to windward and shifting about
In his own peculiar and rather appall-
Ing fashion. Suddenly he came direct
~ into the burned patch perhaps a
hundred yards away. The first thing
hat I noticed now was there were six
Or seven brown birds perched In row
IN his back. These signal birds-some-
lines white, sometimes brown-sit on
heir big companions spine and relieve
lin Of superfuous ticks. So long as
hey sit there he knows that there Is
10 danger and eats on In peace and s
uiet. The instant they fly off, as they /,
o on the slightest warning, up comes I,
Is big snout, and he let's out a sue
ession of shifts or Whistles, caused by
is attempt to scent the direction of h
be danger, for danger there is, he
nows.
On came the beast In zigzag line II
ntil he was not over fifty yards away. O
hen the birds caught sight of me and a
ew of. Up came the big head, and u
lie fun began. All was ready except RI
lat he was too directly head on for m
70 to get In shot below the ear,
hlch was what wanted. 'e
Then he turned into the long grass, ol
Id we lost sight Of him. I moved in 10
the long grass also, taking care to
,ep always to leeward. In mo- d.
ent we could see the top Of his back W
'out twenty yards off, and covered
e place where his head ought to be
th the rife. Then I got what SEEM II
to be the best sight 1 might have, m
pecially as twenty yards was about ha
close as personal comfort and ease
mind allowed, and l fred. ih
lie was the first very large animal so
had killed, and my first sensation tb
Is one Of blank establishment that
e bullet could put him out Of bust pa
IS SO suddenly and so completely. rel
a matter Of fact he simply sank nj,
wn In the grass and was dead be-
e he was fairly stretched on the Gu
'und. hel
he two natives ran at him at once, so
ng careful to approach him from ~
ind, and, grabbing his tail, climbed ope
on his back, dancing cancan and yea
ling and screaming like madmen, =,
then we went back and got ten o'
tiers to come and cut him up. The lop
II Is so big and heavy that 1t is "
feasible to carry away the whole or,
d, and we therefore cut away the Ut"
ns, taking care to get the skin in. sea-
mo,