Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1910-03-03


the Big Feiines Ssem Like Child,
Play-methods OF tae HunterS
Trapping the big feiines Is child's
play compared with thr work of CAD
turing those IumbssEiny colossal ami
mails Of the big pig fsmi.y. the rhI
noceros aud the hipgssi~t'HnIis.
Too stupid to tanaSssr to break TO a
halter and too heavy To transport
through hundreds "a .niies of wilder.
ness. IL would take man half a life.
time TO bring one Of those i've TO six
thousand pound creature. out Of a Jun.
81" INTO civlizatiOn Therefore the
experts ouIy chance Is to tind cow
with calf aud To capture the young
one
Compared with tBs alert. grim ex.
terror OF tie irIineSs there Is little In
the appearance of a phIegtnatic. pom
derouS pi- like a rhilSHcTus TO Indicate
its real ferociOusHess. There is hard
Ply wild animal In Existence which Is
more dangerous thas this raresi Of all
our menaGerie captYes. Awkward as
the great creature xnppears when at
rest. once aroused q dashes through
the densest thicket with the irresisti-
BILE speed of III expIlSs train.
To catch rhino eros the trapper
proceeds with preparations much as
would an explorer bound for a two or
three year expedition 10 the interior
OF an unpXpIorpd continent. for the
difficulty confronting him is the three
fold one Of irst pe1etrating a thou
sand or more miles into the interior:
second. Of finding MT only rhinoce-
ros. but rhinoceror cow with a calf
old enough To capture. and. lastly. Of
Transporting his pri9p across Mills and
mountains aud plains. over rivers and
ravines ACROSS sws npS aud through
forests to civilization
Skirting swanIps n id rivers. the men
are ever on the lookout for the deep.
round spoors. like pie plate driven
into the mud. TOR a. this wet ground
the rhinOceros loves 70 wailow. Ere.
Quently five or six months elapse be-
fore the tracks OF a COW and q caif are
picked W
NoiselesS' and from we'll TO leeward.
the Irapper aud his men gradually
calf are inrlnsed In a circle. From
ahead. out of the maze of cane and
creeper. sounds the uneasy stamping
of the COW. With q half snort, half
grunt. In an instant the rhinocPros is
all attention. Head raised and nostrils
smiling. she searches the air steadily
AT sight of one OF the savages the COW
dashes with The speed of race horse
at the man. charging the human decoy.
and at that instant the trapper's rife
is heard. and her furious charge is
over. provided the bullet reaches the
heart by striking Just behind the left
forec@ th" only vulnerable Ioint In
the inch thick armor with which the
beast Is clad
Now and then il happens that the
trapper fails tu Kill In time-his gun
may miss ure. intervening trees may
Interfere or the marksman may miss
his aim. Then the life of the decoy
depends upon his own agility. To run
TO one side before the rhinoCeros is al.
most on top of him would be fatal. for
the swift brute would overtake him
with u few bounds. His only hope is
to wait until the deadly horn is almost
at his feet ana then. with the swift
ness of u mongo0se dodging the aim of
cobra. To leap TO one side while the
ponderOus creature. unable to turn
short in time. daShes onward under its
own impetus Twice. three times.
clever native hunter will dodge III this
way, giving the trapper ample time To
bring down the rhinOcerOs
Then comes the tracking OF the
frightened calf. which has fed at the
first sign nf trouble. aud soon il is
pushed pr"dded aud showed up
bridge of log skids into a cage OF the
bullock cart.
But even more dangerous Is the trap
ping Of the hipPopota mus. for. al
though in Itself tile ''rhino" il more
savage antagonist than the river
horse" the trapper hunts the former
on land aud brings down at a safe dis
tance. whereas In the case of the hip
popotamus he must tight in the same
primitive fashion that savages have
used for ages Hand to NAV as il
were. he must engage this two ton
monster while standing In the bow Of
frail canoe. for the hippopotamus.
as its name the river horse" means.
Is a land and water animal ard must
be harpoou"d and brought ashore be-
fore ii expires. otherwise II would sink
at once to the bottom of the river. the
coveted cali escaping among the other
hippOpota muses. instead Of following
the stricken COW TO shore. 80 that the
youngster may be- caught-A W
Rolker In st Nicholas.