Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1910-02-04
TWO UGLY ANIMALS.
Those Big Pigs, the Rhinoceros
and the Hippopotamus.
THEY ARE HARD TO CAPTURE.

Getting Away With One of the Colossal
Brutes Makes the Work of Trapping
the Big Felines Seem Like chiid's
Piay-Methods of the Hunters.
Trapping the big felines is childs
play compared with the work of cap
turing those numbering. colossal AMI
mails OF the big pig" family. the rhi-
noceros and the hippopotamus.
Too stupid to tame or to break to a
halter and too heavy to transport
through hundreds OF miles of wilder.
ness, 1t would take a man half a life
time TO bring one OF these Eve to six
thousand pound creatures out of jun-
gle into civilization. Therefore the
experts only chance Is to find q cow
with a calf and to capture the young
one.
Compared with the alert, grim ex-
terror OF the felines. there Is little in
the appearance Of ,phlegmatic. pom
derous pig like a rhinoceros to indicate
Its real ferociousness. There is hard
ly wild animal in existence which is
more dangerous than this rarest of all
our menagerie captives. Awkward as
the great creature appears when at
rest once aroused IT dashes through
the densest thicket with the irresisti-
BILE speed OF an express train.
To catch rhinoceros the trupper
proceeds with preparations much as
would an explorer bound for two or
three year expedition In the interior
Of an unexplored continent for the
difficulty confronting him is the three
fold one Of first penetrating a thou
sand or more miles into the interior;
second. Of finding not only a rhinoce-
ros, but a rhinoceros COW with a calf
old enough to capture. and. lastly, OF
transporting his prize across hills and
mountains and plains, over rivers and
ravines. across swamps and through
forests to civilization.
Skirting swamps and rivers. the men
are ever on the lookout for the deep,
round spoors. Ike a pie plate driven
Into the mud. for In this wet ground
the rhinoceros loves to wallow. Ere
Quently ive or six months elapse be-
fore the tracks OF a cow and q calf are
picked UP.
Eoiseless and from we'll to leeward,
the trapper and his men gradually
steal nearer until the cow and the
calf are inclosed In a circle. From
ahead. out OF the maze OF cane and
creeper. sounds the uneasy stamping
Of the COW. With a half snort, half
grunt, IN an instant the rhinoceros 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 dccoy.
and at that instant the trapper's rife
Is heard. and her furious charge is
heart by striking just behind the left
foreieg-the only vulnerable point In
the inch thick armor with which the
beast Is clad.
Now and then 1t happens that the
trapper fails to kill in time-his gun
may miss fire. 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
tue oWnL WOuIu ONGIIdke 0Eul
with a few bounds. His only hope is
to wait until the deadly horn is almost
at his feet and then. with the swift
ness OF mongoose lodging the aim OF
a 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, q
clever native hunter will dodge In 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 of trouble. and soon 1t is
pushed. prodded and showed up 8
bridge Of log skids into a cage OF the
bullock cart.
But even more dangerous Is the trap
ping of the hippopotamus. for, al.
though In Itself the ''rhino" is a more
savage antagonist than the "riyel