Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-06-09

have a singular way Of hunting the
rhino. They dig a hole near a tree to
which they know he comes regularly.
Over h hole they lay a bamboo trap
which looks like a spokeless wheel.
Over the trap they lay q moose, and to
the other end of the noosed rope they
tie a log weighing 300 or ~4OOapounds.
When the rhinoceros comes to his ia.
vorite tree he gets his foot in the trap,
and when he struggles to pull his foot
out he draws tight the moose. He then
makes off at a gallop, dragging the log.
The natives track him by means OF
the marks which the log leaves, and
when, tired out, he lies down to rest
scores Of them attack him with spears.
Surprisingly quick on his feet, the
rhino would be doubly dangerous If
his eyesight were not poor and his
range Of vision limited pretty much to
straight ahead. Hunters Of quick wit
have on numerous occasions saved
themselves by making a quick turn to
one side from his path, escaping his
vision. And blindly ahead charges
Mr.~Rhino, in such al fage that ON
striking a tree head-on he has been
known to halt and lunge at 1t so heav-
lily that be has broken his own neck.
Oft, on a savage quest ofe balm for
wounded feelings, he has charged at a
caravan, going through it FROM one
end to another, scattering white men,
natives, ponies and baggage IN every
direction, and as suddenly disappear
ing, in snorting glees into the hidden
recesses Of his haunts.
An Englishman who recently re-
turned from an African exploring ex-
petition relates hat on a starry night
when in camp a tremendous noise was
heard In a neighboring thicket. As he
jumped to his feet a rhino bull four
teen feet long plunged through the
askaris ON guard, came through the
small herd OF Cattle the. party Had.
broKeTthe backs of two cows. gored a
pony to death, collided> with a terri
fed cook, throwing him high in the
air, landing thirty feet distant and
with a ina effort demolished the tent
from which the leaders OF the expedi2
ton had pre~cfpitately fed a. moment
before. OF a sudden the rhino was
gone in the darkness, several shots.
hastily ired,Shavtng no effect.
A seasoned forester, who procured
dangerous animals for years in Africa
for Barnum's circus, tells the writer
that he would rather tackle a lion or
an elephant any day than a rhino.
81 captured Barnum's first rhtnoc-
eros, and that animal cost him more
than any four lions or tigers he ever
owned" the hunter said. II sent
home lions, CRATES. elephants, buffa-
loeS and hyenas. but it was a whole
year before I got my first rhipocerosL
The natives had killed one occasional
", but such d thing as capturing one
alive had never been heard Of.
After failing to make a oos strong
enough to hold a rhino my next move
was to seek a point on a path several
miles from camp and erect a barri-
cade. This barricade ran to a v shap-
ed point and was made strong enough
to hold an elephant. Ii a rhinoceros
took that Path he would follow it to
the last inch, and when In close quar-
tiers we would be on hand to tangle
him up When a rhinoceros appeared
at the barricade he halted to sniff the
air. Then he lowered his head, charg.
ing downthe path.
"I thought we had him, but he
struck the logs and rocks at the point
Of the V with the power Of a wild 10.
comotive and battered through, leav.
ing blood and chunks OF his hide on
every side.
ST hadn't been in Africa very long
when I found out that the elephant
played second fiddle. We were hiding
at a water hole one day to watch the
direction taken by a troop OF nine ele'
plants when a bull rhino appeared
He stood in the open and took a long
survey of the elephants. As they
caught sight Of him they crowded to
Gether as If alarmed. The rhino go1
ready and with a loud snort came
charging down. Among the nine was
an elephant almost as big as was
Jumbo, a phenomenon among African
elephants. The ~rhinoceros made di
rectly for the big fellow, struck hin
On the left shoulder, knocked him int
the pool and fell over him. The othel
elephants ran away, and, though tht
big fellow ought to have been able t.
overcome a pair Of rhinos, he raz
away from this one, closely pursued.
"On one occasion we had captured
cub lion in a pit and were engaged II
getting him into a cage. Within half {
mile of our camp a lion, a lioness ant
a cub had lain up in a thicket for TIT
day. Our captive was Of this family
and his loss put them in a fighting
mood A roaming rhino got their scent
and people saw hin charge int
the thicket. There was a row as he IN
covered the lions, and he emerged II
chase Of the Honess and the cub, whit
the lion was on his back seeking t.
claw him. He brushed his rider of
against a limb and then drove thu
three far out of the neighborhood."