The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-14

A1ASA lAlCy Az AC jill ICKul0CIY
Over the hole they lay a bamboo tra1
which looks like a spokeless wheel
Over the trap they lay. moose, and t.
the other end Of the noosed rope they
tie a log weighing 300 or 400 pounds
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 of 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 dorAly dangerous II
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 a rage that on
striking a tree head-on he has been
known to halt and lunge at It so heav-
lily that he has broken his own neck.
OFT, on a savage quest Of 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 Al suddenly disappear
ing, in snorting glee, into the hidden
recesses of his haunts.
An Englishman who recently re-
turned from an African exploring ex-
petition relates that on q 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,
broke the backs Of TWO cows, gored a
pony to death, collided with q terri
fed cook, throwing him high in the
air, landing thirty feet distant, and
with a final effort demolished the tent
from which the leaders of the expedi-
ton had precipitately fed a moment
before. OF n sudden the rhino was
gone in the darkness, several shots.
hastily fired, having 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.
II captured Barnum's first rhinoc-
eros, and that animal cost him more
than any four lions or tigers he ever
owned" the hunter said. II sent
home lions, giraffes, elephants, buffa-
loes and hyenas, but it was a whole
year before l got my first rhinoceros.
The natives had killed one occasional
ly, but such a thing as capturing one
alive had never been heard of.
"After failing to make a moose 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. If 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
u1AI up. NNuCA q 1u11OCClOo uplCulCu
at the barricade he halted to sniff the
air. Then he lowered his head, charg-
ing down the path.
81 thought we had him, but he
struck the logs and rocks at the point
of the V with the power of a wild To-
connective and battered through, leav-
ing blood and chunks Of his hide on
every side.
II 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 got
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 d.
rectly for the big fellow, struck him
on the left shoulder, knocked him into
| the pool and fell owe him. The other
elephants ran away, and, though the
big fellow ought to have been able to
overcome a pair of rhinos, he ran
away from this one, closely pursued.
"On one occasion we had captured a
cub lion in a pit and We're engaged in
getting him into a cage. Within half a
mile of our camp a lion, a lioness and
a cub had lain up in a thicket for the
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 him charge into
the thicket. There was a row as he un-
covered the lions. and he emerged In
chase Of the lioness and the cub, while
the lion was on his back seeking to
claw him. He brushed his rider Of
against a limb and then drove the
three far out Of the neighborhood."