Popular Adventure Tales

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER XVI.

  THE LONG-HORNED RHINOCEROS.

  Great, indeed, was now the affliction of the field-cornet. Fortuneseemed to be adverse in everything. Step by step he had been sinking foryears, every year becoming poorer in worldly wealth. He had now reachedthe lowest point--poverty itself. He owned nothing whatever. His horsesmight be regarded as dead. The cow had escaped from the tsetse byavoiding the cliffs, and keeping out upon the plain; and this animal nowconstituted his whole live stock,--his whole property! True, he still hadhis fine wagon; but of what use would that be without either oxen orhorses? a wagon without a team! Better a team without a wagon.

  What could he do? How was he to escape from the position he was placedin? To say the least, it was an awkward one--nearly two hundred milesfrom any civilised settlement, and no means of getting there,--no meansexcept by walking; and how were his children to walk two hundred miles?Impossible!

  Across desert tracts, exposed not only to terrible fatigue, but tohunger, thirst, and fierce carnivorous animals. It appeared impossiblethat they could accomplish such a task.

  And what else was there to be done? asked the field-cornet of himself.Were they to remain there all their lives, subsisting precariously ongame and roots? Were his children to become "Bush-boys,"--himself aBushman?

  With these reflections passing through his mind, no wonder that VonBloom felt deeply afflicted.

  "Merciful Heaven!" he exclaimed, as he sat with his head between hishands, "what will become of me and mine?"

  Poor Von Bloom! he had reached the lowest point of his fortunes.

  He had, in reality, reached the lowest point; for on that veryday,--even within that very hour--an incident occurred, that not onlygave relief to his afflicted spirit, but that promised to lay thefoundation of future wealth and prosperity. In one hour from that timethe prospects of the field-cornet had undergone a complete change,--inone hour from that time he was a happy man, and all around him were ashappy as he!

  You are impatient to hear how this change was effected? What littlefairy had sprung out of the spring, or come down from the cliffs, tobefriend the good field-cornet in his hour of misery? You are impatientto hear! Then you shall hear.

  The sun was just going down. They were all seated under the great tree,and near a fire, upon which they had cooked their supper. There was notalking, no cheerful conversation,--for the children saw that theirfather was in trouble, and that kept them silent. Not a word passedbetween them, or only an occasional whisper.

  It was at this moment that Von Bloom gave utterance to his sad thoughtsin words as above.

  As if seeking for an answer, his eyes were raised to heaven, and thenwandered around the plain. All at once they became fixed upon a singularobject, that appeared at some distance off, and was just emerging fromthe bushes.

  It was an animal of some kind, and from its vast size Von Bloom and theothers at first took it to be an elephant. None of them, exceptSwartboy, were accustomed to elephants in their wild state,--for,although these animals once inhabited the most southerly portion ofAfrica, they have long since deserted the settled districts, and are nowonly to be found far beyond the frontier of the colony. But they knewthat there were elephants in these parts--as they had already observedtheir tracks--and all now supposed the huge creature that wasapproaching must be one.

  Not all, Swartboy was an exception. As soon as his eyes fell upon theanimal he cried out,--

  "Chukuroo--a chukuroo!"

  "A rhinoster, is it?" said Von Bloom, knowing that "chuckuroo" was thenative name for the rhinoceros, or "rhinoster," as he called it inDutch.

  "Ya, baas," replied Swartboy; "and one o' da big karles--da, 'kobaoba,'da long-horn white rhinoster."

  What Swartboy meant by this was that the animal in question was a largespecies of rhinoceros, known among the natives as the "kobaoba."

  Now I dare say, young reader, you have been all your life under theimpression that there was but one species of rhinoceros in theworld--that is _the_ rhinoceros. Is it not so? Yes.

  Well, permit me to inform you, that you have been under a wrongimpression. There are quite a number of distinct species of this verysingular animal. At least eight distinct kinds I know of; and I do nothesitate to say that when the central parts of Africa have been fullyexplored, as well as South Asia and the Asiatic islands, nearly half asmany more will be found to exist.

  In South Africa four distinct species are well known; one in NorthAfrica differs from all these; while the large Indian rhinoceros bearsbut slight resemblance to any of them. A distinct species from any isthe rhinoceros of Sumatra, an inhabitant of that island; and stillanother is the Java rhinoceros, found in the island of Java. Thus wehave no less than eight kinds, all specifically differing from oneanother.

  The natives of South Africa are acquainted with four distinct species ofrhinoceros, to which they give distinct names; and it may be remarkedthat this observation of species by native hunters is far more to bedepended upon than the speculations of mere closet-naturalists, who drawtheir deductions from a tubercle, or the tooth, or a stuffed skin.Gordon Cumming, for example, the most distinguished of all Africanhunters has done more to increase the knowledge of African zoology thana whole college full of "speculating" _savans_.

  This same Gordon Cumming has written a most interesting account of hishunting experiences, tells you that there are four kinds of rhinocerosin Southern Africa; and no man is likely to know better than he.

  These four kinds are known among the natives as the "borele," the"keitloa," the "muchocho," and "kobaoba." The two first are "blackrhinoceroses,"--that is, the general colour of their skin is dark--whilethe "muchocho" and "kobaoba" are white varieties, having the skin of adingy whitish hue. The black rhinoceroses are much smaller--scarce halfthe size of the others, and they differ from them in the length and setof their horns, as well as in other particulars.

  In the form and length of their neck, the set of their ears, and otherrespects, the black rhinoceroses differ materially from the white ones.In fact, their habits are quite unlike. The former feed chiefly on theleaves and twigs of thorns, such as the _Acacia horrida_, or"wait-a-bits," while the latter live upon grass. The former are offiercer disposition--will attack man or any other animal on sight; andeven sometimes seem to grow angry with the bushes, charging upon themand breaking them to pieces!

  The white rhinoceroses, although fierce enough when wounded or provoked,are usually of pacific disposition, and will permit the hunter to passwithout molestation.

  These become very fat, and make excellent eating. The flesh of noAfrican animal is esteemed superior to the calf of the white rhinoceros,whereas the black varieties never grow fat, and their flesh is tough andunpalatable.

  The hide is also used for different purposes, among others for makingthe whips known as "jamboks," though hippopotamus-hide is superior.

  The skin of the African rhinoceros, as already stated, is without theplaits, folds, and scutellae, that characterise its Asiatic congener, yetit is far from being a soft one. It is so thick and difficult to pierce,that a bullet of ordinary lead will sometimes flatten upon it. To ensureits penetrating, the lead must be hardened with solder.

  The rhinoceros, though not a water animal, like the hippopotamus, isnevertheless fond of that element, and is rarely found at a greatdistance from it. All four kinds love to lie and wallow in mud, just ashogs in a summer's day; and they are usually seen coated all over withthis substance. During the day they may be observed lying down orstanding under the shade of some thick mimosa-tree, either asleep or ina state of easy indolence; and it is during the night that they wanderabout in search of food and water.

  If approached from the lee side they can easily be got at, as theirsmall sparkling eyes do not serve them well. On the contrary, if thehunter go to windward, they will scent him at a great distance, as theirsense of smell is most acute. If their eyes were only as keen as theirnostrils, it would be a dangerous game to attack them, for they can runwit
h sufficient rapidity to overtake a horse in the first charge.

  In charging and running, the black variety far excels the white. Theyare easily avoided, however, by the hunter springing quickly to oneside, and letting them rush blindly on.

  The black rhinoceros is about six feet high at the shoulder, and fullthirteen in length; while the white kinds are far larger. The whiterhinoceros is full seven feet high, and fourteen in length!

  No wonder that an animal of these extraordinary dimensions was at firstsight taken for the elephant. In fact, the kobaoba rhinoceros is thequadruped next to the elephant in size; and with his great muzzle--fulleighteen inches broad--his long clumsy head, his vast ponderous body,this animal impresses one with an idea of strength and massive grandeuras great, and some say greater than the elephant himself. He looks,indeed, like a caricature of the elephant. It was not such a badmistake, then, when our people by the wagon took the "kobaoba" for the"mighty elephant."

  Swartboy, however, set them all right by declaring that the animal theysaw was the white rhinoceros.