Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1894 — Rhinoceros Shooting. [ARTICLE]

Rhinoceros Shooting.

A hunter in Africa tells how he shot his first rhinos near KilimaNjaro. He crawled along the grass till within fifty yards of the big beast. “Then,” he says, “I raised my head, saw that some twenty yards further on there was a tuft of slightly longer grass, and determined to get up to this before firing. However, just before we reached it some halfdozen birds came from the direction of the other two rhinoceros and settled on our cow’s back, but we eventually succeeded in reaching the tuft. The difficulty now was to get into a sitting position and ready to shoot without being seen by the birds. To do this I worked my legs towards the rhino as I lay on my side, and gradually raised myself into a sitting position ; but at that instant the birds saw me, and flew up with their usual cry of alarm. At the same moment the rhino raised herself on her forelegs like a huge pig, and I then realized that I was nearer than I intended to get, only about twenty yards separating us, but she did not appear to see me. As she remained sitting in this position, without moving my body, which I know might attract attention, I stretched out my arm behind me for the 4-bore, but did not feel it at first, and thought that for once my faithful Ramazan had received rather a shock to his nerves on finding himself at such close quarters. However, he put it into my hand at last, after a delay of perhaps two seconds, which appeared to me much longer, and I quickly planted a bullet on the point of her left shoulder, which knocked her over. Reloading before I moved, I saw she was still down, but making desperate efforts to get up; but, as she was lying on her left side, with her broken shoulder under her, she was unable to do so, and I ran up and despatched her with a shot in the neck.”—[New York Sun.