es
and leaves with the upper lip which is long and pointed, and with which
the food is rolled together before placing it in the mouth.

The flesh of the rhinoceros is good to eat; and its strong, thick skin
is made by the natives, into shields, whips, and other articles.

Though clumsy and apparently very stupid, the rhinoceros is a very
active animal when attacked or otherwise alarmed, dashing about with
wonderful rapidity.

It is very fierce and savage--so much so that the natives dread it more
than they do the lion. In hunting the animal, it is dangerous for a man
to fire at one unless he is mounted upon a swift horse, and can easily
reach some place of safety.

When attacking an enemy, the rhinoceros lowers its head and rushes
forward like an angry goat. Though it may not see the object of its
attack, the sense of smell is so acute that it knows about when the
enemy is reached.

Then begins a furious tossing of the head, and if the powerful horn
strikes the foe, a terrible wound is the result.

When wounded itself, the rhinoceros loses all sense of fear, and charges
again and again with such desperate fury that the enemy is almost always
overcome.

A famous traveler in South Africa relates the following incident that
happened during one of his hunting excursions:

"Having proceeded about two miles, I came upon a black rhinoceros,
feeding on some Wait-a-bit thorns within fifty yards of me.

"I fired from the saddle, and sent a bullet in behind his shoulder, when
he rushed forward, blowing like a grampus, and then stood looking about
him.

"Presently he started off, and I followed. I expected that he would come
to bay, but it seems a rhinoceros never does that--a fact I did not
know at that time.

"Suddenly he fell flat upon the ground; but soon recovering his feet, he
resumed his course as if nothing had happened.

"I spurred on my horse, dashed ahead, and rode right in his path. Upon
this, the hideous monster charged me in the most resolute manner,
blowing loudly through his nostrils.

"Although I quickly turned about, he followed me at such a furious pace
for several hundred yards, with his horrid horny snout within a few
yards of my horse's tail, that I thought my destruction was certain.

"The animal, however, suddenly turned and ran in another direction. I
had now become so excited with the incident, that I determined to give
him one more shot any way.

"Nerving my horse again, I made another