A RHINOCEROS BAYED BY ELEPHANTS. 4 5
ii
of tilc phttun (or :<llp-knot), of wliich ain])le clescrij)lion may be found in a
preceding page, iiis party was pursued ill some distance by a rliinoeeros ;
from wliicli it required uuich exertion lo escape. • My friend often confessed
tliat the appearance of the animal, and the obvious uneasiness of the elepliunts,
coniminnciite<l to him a certain sensation veiy like fear, and made liitn coinplelcly
a convert to llie opinions of his mohotifs.
Tiie rhinoceros, as well as the camel, is retromingent, and like that animal
not only smells extremely rank, but its urine is highly ollensive and corrosive.
Tliis might perhaps be of no moment, had not the rhinoceros a iHlhy trick of
discharging bis water suddenly at such as are behind him, causing great pain
and intlammalion to the unfortutiale by-stander. The lizard and spider are
equally obnoxious on tbis account ; especially the former, which maybe seen
daily in great number.s on the walls and ceilings of the best houses in India;
whence I hey often sprinkle persons below. If the part on which the urine falls
be not immediately washed, a blister will soon rise, followed by an excorialion
extremely diflicult to heal. Camels should be removed as fast as possible from
the spot lo which they bring u tent to be pitched, else tiiey will stale soon after
being relieved frou\ their burthens, and render the ¡¡lace so obnoxious as to
preclude the possibility of occupying it.
The rhinoceros is seldom lo be found on the western side of the Ganges,
though the jungles there are fidly competent to ailbnl abundant shelter; nor
indeed has an elephant ever been seen in its wild slate but to the eastward,
and far distant from the lianks of that noble river. It should seem that those
animals are partial to the immense tracts of ihe surput, or tassel grass, which
skirl the vast jungles bordering our possessions on ihat side, and whicli being
composed of lofty forests of .wh/ and sissoo trees, filled up with various sorts of
mulerwood, oiler an asylum lo the ferine species, such as cannot be equalled
in any pari of Europe, and can be compared only with the prodigious wildernesses
of the American interior.
I t may serve as a proof how remarkably careful the rhinoceros must be of its
young, when it is understood, that very few have ever been taken alive. The
natives have an opinion, that when wounded, ihey destroy iheni ; but I never
could obtain any satisfaclory information on this head; it may, no doubt, be
classed among ihc million of absurdities with which a person, recording all ihe
nonsense current among an ignorant and superstitious race, might swell many
an ample volume 1 Certainly few are seen in the possession of genlleincn ;
which niav be owing to the lilllo |)ains taken lo obtain that which, when
oblained, would prove a troublesome antl dangerous acquisition. I do not
recollect more than three, viz. one with the late worthy collector of Bhaugulpore,
Mr, Clcavoland, which I believe did not live very long; another with Mr.
Matthew Day of Dacca; and the third witli Mr. Young of Palna. The la.st
used occasionally to walk about the streets, and was for a long lime considered
perfectly innocent; but, if my information be correct, was latterly found to be
vicious, and was in consequence destroyed. Mr. Day's rhinoceros, which was
by far the largest of tliem all, was kepi in a park, into which it was not very
safe to venture. What became of it I do not ktiow, but conclude his fate lo
have been long since decided by his growing vicc.
'i'he skin of the rhinoceros is much valued, and often sells for a great price.
I t is in estimation according to its ihickness, and Lo its clearness when freed
from the fleshy membranes within ; as also in pro])ortiou to the polish it will
lake. Tliat from the shoulder, is most prized ; a shield made of it will resist a
leaden bullet, which, for the most part, tlallens on it the same as when lired
against a stone. An iron ball, however, from a smart piece, will generally
penetrate, and such is invariably used by those who make a livelihood by
selling the skin and tallow of this animal; the laller ])eing considered by the
natives as infallible in removing swellings and stillness frotn the joints. We
find, that, in our enlightened portion of the globe, innuiiK-rable articles are
sold as genuine, supposed to be imported from distant soils, but which are not
adequate Lo the production of a tenth part of our own expenditure; if such
be ihe ease amid ihe thousands who po.ssess a knowledge of chemistry and of
commerce, what nnist be ihe extent of the iini)osition among a people utterly
ignorant of all science, who neither read nor travel to reap iufornialioti, and
whose superstitious bigotry can scarcely be equalled ! Were all the shields
and all the grease sold as genuine, absolutely so, the whole breed of the
rhinoceros must have been long since extirpated.
The shecarries, or native sportsmen, who lie in wait for ihe rhinoceros, are
ordinarily furnished with ;7/y«/.v, or heavy matchlocks, such as are commonly
appropriated for the defence of mud forls, and may be properly classed with
the arijuebuss of former limes. They carry balls from one to three ounces in
weight ; and having very subslantial barrels, are too heavy to fire without a
rest. Many have an iron fork of about a foot or more i]i length, fixed by a pivot
not far from the muzzle, which being placed on a wall, in a bush, or eventually
on the ground, serves to support it, and enables the s/iccarric lo aim with great
precision, which he seldom fails to do. It has been Ibund, that in the <lefence
of some mud forls. in Buiiilclcuiid especially, the besieged have exhibited most
astonishing dexlerity in this particular, rarely failing lo hit their object in the
head, or near the heart, though at very great dislances. All the iire-arms made
in India for the use of the natives have small cylindrical cluunbers, and are
mostly of a very small bore. They imparl a.wonderful impetus to the ball.
T o the power of an iron ball, discharged from a jiiijal, even the rhinoceros
must submit; though sometimes he will carry oil' one or more balls, and
wander many hours before he drops. The aim being taken from a Iree, or
from some inaccesible situation, in which the shecarric feels himself secure, and
a steady cool sight can be taken, rarely proves incorrect. Levelling with precision
at the eye, the thorax, or under the flap of ihe shoulder, all \vhich are
principal objects, he generally inflicts a fatal woimd. The rhinoceros now