Sunbury American

An Adventure with Rhinoceroses
Charles John Anderson, in his work, "Lake Ngami, or exploration and Discoveries in South-western Africa," recently published by Dix Edwards & Co., of New York, thus relates one of his narrow escapes:-

"While pondering over my late wonderful escape from an elephant, I observed, at a little distance, a huge rhinoceros protrude his ponderous and misshapen head through the bushes, and presently afterward he approached to within a dozen paces of my ambuscade. His broadside was then fully exposed to view, and notwithstanding I still felt a little nervous from my conflict with the elephant, I lost no time in firing. The beast did not at once fall to the ground, but from appearance I had every reason to believe he would not live long.

"Scarcely had I re-loaded when a black rhinoceros, of the species Keitloa, (a female, as it proved,) stood drinking at the water; but her position, as with the elephant in the first instance was unfavorable for a good shot. As, however, she was very near me, I thought I was pretty sure of breaking her leg, and thereby disabling her; and in this I succeeded. My fire seemed to madden her : she rushed wildly forward on three legs, when I gave her a second shot though apparently with little or no effect. I felt sorry at not being able to end her sufferings at once: but as I was too well acquainted with the habits of the rhinoceros to venture on pursuing her under the circumstances, I determined to wait patiently for daylight, and then destroy her with the aid of my dogs. But it was not to be.

"As no more elephants or other large game appeared, I thought after a time it might be as well to go in search of the white rhinoceros previously wounded; and I was not long in finding his carcass; for my ball, as I supposed, had caused his most immediate death.

"In heading back to my skarm, I accidentally took a turn in the direction pursued by the black rhinoceros, and by ill-luck, as the event proved, at once encountered her. She was still on her legs, but her position, as before, was unfavorable. Hoping, however, to make her change it for a better, and thus enable me to destroy her at once, I took up a stone and hurled it at her with all my force: when snorting horribly, erecting her tail, keeping her head close to the ground, and raising clouds of dust by her feet, she rushed at me with fearful fury. I had only just time to level my rifle and fire before she was upon me: and the next instant, while instinctively turning round for the purpose of retreating, she laid me prostrate. The shock was so violent as to send my rifle, powder-flask, and ball-pouch, as also my cap, spinning into the air; the gun, indeed as afterwards ascertained, to a distance of fully ten feet. On the beast charging me, it crossed my mind that, unless gored at once by her horn, her speed would be such (after knocking me down, which I took for granted would be the case, as to carry her beyond me, and thus I might be afforded a chance of escape. So, in turning over (in doing which her head and the fore part of her body, owing to the violence of the charge, was half buried in the sand.) and trampled on me with great violence, her fore-quarter passed over my body. Struggling for life, I seized my opportunity, and as she was recovering herself for a renewal of the charge, I scrambled out from between her hind legs.

"But the enraged beast had not yet done with ! Scarcely had I regained my feet before she struck me down a second time, and with her horn ripped up my right thigh (though not very deeply.) from near the knee to the hip; with her fore feet moreover, she hit me a terrific blow upon the left shoulder, near the back of the neck. My ribs bent under the enormous weight and pressure, and for a moment I must, as I believe, have lost all consciousness--I have, at least, very indistinct notions of what took place afterwards. All I remember, is, that when I raised my head I heard a furious snorting and plunging among the neighboring bushes.

"I now arose, though with great difficulty, and made my way in the best manner I was able, toward a large tree near at hand, for shelter; but this precaution was needless; the beast, for the time at least, showed no inclination further to molest me. Either in the melee, or owing to the confusion caused by her wounds, she had lost sight of me, or she felt satisfied with the revenge she had taken. Be that as it may, I escaped with my life, though sadly wounded and severely bruised, in which disabled state I had great difficulty in getting back to my "skarm."

"During the greater part of the conflict I preserved my presence of mind; but after the danger was over, and when I had leisure to collect my scattered and confused senses, I was seized with a nervous affection, causing a violent trembling. I have since killed many rhinoceroses, as well for sport as food; but several weeks elapsed before I could attack those animals with any coolness.

"About sunrise, Kamapyn, my half-caste boy, whom I had left on the preceding evening, about a half a mile away, came to the 'skarm' to convey my guns and other things to our encampment. In a few words I related to him the mishap that had befallen me. He listened with seeming incredulity; but the sight of my gashed thigh soon convinced him I was not in joke.

"I afterward directed him to take one of the guns and proceed in search of the wounded rhinoceros, cautioning him to be careful in approaching the beast, which I had reason to believe was not yet dead. He had only been absent a few minutes, when I heard a cry of distress. Striking my hand against my forehead, I exclaimed, "Good God! the brute has attacked the lad also!"

"Seizing hold of my rifle, I scrambled through the bushes as fast as my crippled condition would permit; and when I had proceeded two or three hundred yards, a scene suddenly presented itself that I shall retain a vivid remembrance of to the last days of my existence. Among some bushes, and within a couple of yards of each other, stood the rhinoceros and the young savage; the former supporting herself on three legs, covered with blood and froth, and snorting in the most furious manner, the latter, petrified with fear-spell-bound, as it were-and riveted to the spot. Creeping, therefore, to the side of the rhinoceros, opposite to that on which the boy was standing so as to draw her attention from him, I leveled and fired, on which the beast charged wildly to and fro without any distinct object. While she was thus occupied, I poured in shot after shot, but thought she would never fall. At length, however, she sank slowly to the ground; and imagining that she was in her death agonies, and that all danger was over, I unhesitatingly walked close up to her, and was upon the point of placing the muzzle of my gun to give her the coup de grace, when to my horror, she once more rose on her legs. Taking a hurried aim, I pulled the trigger and instantly retreated, with the beast in full pursuit. The race, however, was a short one; for, just as I threw myself into a bush for safety, she fell dead at my feet, so near me, indeed, that I could have touched her with the muzzle of my rifle! Another moment, and I should probably have been impaled on her murderous horn, which, though short, was sharp as a razor."