Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1933-09-21
DISCOVER HABITAT
OF RHINOCEROS MEN
Traces Found in Hill Of Mys-
terry in Transvaal.


Cape Town.-Sensationa finds Of
golden ornaments and other relics of
a vanished native race have just been
made In the northern Transvaal at a
place called Mapungubwe-the Hill Of
Mystery.
The natives. 1t appears, long have
known of the Hill Of Mystery; but
they feared the place and never ex-
plored 1t. Thirty years ago a white
hermit named Bernard Lotrie lived
near the spot. He had accompanied
Doctor Livingstone on the famous
journey to Lake Ngami; and Lotrie un-
doubtedly climbed the almost inacces-
sible Hill of Mystery. But at that
time there was no suspicion that
prehistoric settlement existed south of
the Limpopo river, and LOtrie's sto-
ries of strange discoveries attracted
no attention.
Now that valuable relics have been
unearthed, men who remember Lotrie
have recalled his story Of a rich
treasure chamber" in the dense bush
near the hill The golden treasures
already found have whetted adven-
turous appetites, and the hunt is on.
Meanwhile, the Hill of Mystery is
being guarded by police, while party
from the University of Pretoria car
ries out scientific research untroubled
by intruders.
A Powerful Tribe.
The most valuable find was a small
golden rhinoceros. A very small clan
Of natives whose ancestors worshiped
the rhinoceros still lives in Rhodesia.
It Is regarded as practically certain
that the people who inhabited the Hill
Of Mystery and smelted gold there,
were "rhinoceros men,"
Discoveries have been made not only
on the precipitous hilltop Of Mapun-
gubwe, but also in the surrounding
country. The rhinoceros men were evil
IDENTIFY powerful tribe in their day,
for the bush is impregnated with EVIL
dences of old human occupation. Pot
terry and beads, besides the gold and
copper ornaments, have been. found
over wide area. A skeleton wearing
metal helmet was among the most
interesting discoveries.
It has been suggested that the Hill
Of Mystery was the burying ground of
the foreign invaders who carried Off
the gold from the ancient mines of
Rhodesia. Some Of the beads and or
naments appear to be of Egyptian
origin. 4-
There Is 4 tradition along the Linn
popo that small yellow people
worked the gold and copper mines
near the river, trading with travellers
who wore white cloth around their
heads and rode on camels. For the
reason already mentioned, the scien-
lists have had great difficulty in OBJ
tanning native guides. Every one
who goes up that hill dies" say the
natives. 1--WE don't know why-but
they die"
A Formidable Fortress.
The Hill Of Mystery is a mass Of
hard sandstone rising out Of the trop-
ical bush of the Limpopo valley. It
Is the only hill in the neighborhood
topped with grass, and it is now clear
that the rhinoceros men carried hun
dreds of tons Of earth to the summit
Of their secret place. The sides are
rugged and overhanging, and the scien-
lists only climbed it with the aid Of
ropes and ladders. There is one great
oblique cleft In the rock, however,
which offers the least difficult path to
the summit. The entrance to the cleft
Is hidden by trees and a stranger
might never find 1t.
Holes were cut In this cleft by the
ancients, and once, no doubt, there
were wooden rungs forming a sort Of
ladder to the summit. At the top Of
the cleft were boulders, evidently
placed In position 80 that they could
be toppled over In the event Of an
invasion. This same terrible form Of
defense was found at other places
where the cliffs might have been
climbed. The stronghold of the rhin.
oceros men was impregnable.
No other walls were needed-indeed
the only sign Of building found on the
summit was a small stone enclosure
possibly once the chiefs residence
now occuniod nv hahooua