CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN.
A RIDE UPON A RHINOCEROS.
Fortunately for all they were not distant from their wagons when thuscharged upon. They had advanced only a few paces before deliveringtheir fire, and these few paces were all they had to run back, beforethey sprang up into the capacious vehicles. Had it been otherwise--hadthe chase only lasted twenty yards farther--most undoubtedly one or moreof the party would have been hoisted upon the horns of the pursuinganimals, or trampled under their broad brutal hoofs.
As it was, the hindmost of them had a narrow escape of it; for they hadhardly taken shelter under the cap-tents of the wagons, when the hornsof the muchochos were heard rattling against the planks.
Although they had fled to the wagons for want of a better place, theywere far from feeling secure. They knew that these immense brutes,should they take it into their heads, could soon demolish the vehicles,strong as these were. What was their consternation, then, at seeing theold bull suddenly lower his head, and charge forward upon one of thewagons, in which several of them had taken refuge!
The next moment was heard the terrible concussion--the horn of themuchocho struck the "buik plank," passing clear through it--the timbersplit from end to end--the "achter kist" was shivered to pieces, and thehuge vehicle was lifted clear from the ground, and hoisted several feetout of its place! A simultaneous cry of alarm broke forth from theoccupants of the wagon--which was continued as they saw the hugequadruped preparing to repeat the charge.
At this crisis the faithful buck-dogs performed an essential service,and saved, not only the wagons, but perhaps also the lives of theirmasters. As the great bull was heading once more towards the wagon,several of the dogs attacked him from behind; two of them launchedthemselves upon his flanks, and one other springing upward, caught holdof his tail and hung on!
Now the tail of the rhinoceros is one of his tenderest bits; and thisnew and unexpected mode of assault quite disconcerted the old bull.Instead, therefore, of following up his charge upon the wagon, he turnedround as fast as his unwieldy body would permit, blowing with agony andrage. But the stanch hound still hung on, while the others kept bitingat the bull's hind-legs; and vainly attempting to get at the dogs, thehuge beast danced round and round like a kitten after its own tail--if acomparison may be allowed between two animals of such unequalmagnitudes.
This scene continued for some minutes, until at length the dogs werethrown off. One of them was crushed beneath the heavy feet of therhinoceros, while another was badly ripped by the horn of the female.But the gallant brutes had performed their part well; and by means oftheir barking and biting, they had drawn the muchochos altogether awayfrom the wagons, and into a different part of the meadow.
It was not likely they would return to the attack upon the wagons,unless they chanced to be driven that way by the dogs--for therhinoceros, partly from his low power of sight, and partly from hisforgetful nature, rarely returns to assault any object once he hasquitted it.
But a new fear now sprang up in the minds of the young yagers--no longerfor themselves, but for their horses!
These animals, as already stated, along with the oxen, had been leftgrazing upon the meadow, without any fastening. When the muchochosfirst appeared, both oxen and horses had taken to flight. The oxen hadgone toward the lower end of the meadow; and, guided by a cunning oldleader, had set off upon their back trail over the ridge by which theyhad entered. The horses, on the contrary, had remained prancing aroundthe wagons, until the muchochos came upon the spot; and, then dashingoff together, had leaped the stream, and taken their stand trembling andcowering close by the cliffs on the opposite side. Here they hadremained during the early part of the fight between the dogs andmuchochos.
But in the course of this conflict both the dogs and their hugeadversaries had worked up to the spot where the horses were, and oncemore set the latter in motion.
Seeing these, the rhinoceroses immediately started after them--perhapsdeeming them antagonists more worthy of their horns; and now for someminutes a terrible melee of charging muchochos and galloping steedsfilled the measure of the glen--the former blowing and snorting withrage, while the latter snorted with affright.
Fortunately, the small circumference within which this scene wasenacted, enabled the hunters to use their pieces with effect; andwhenever either of the rhinoceroses came to a stand, if but for amoment, the crack of a gun could be heard, and the thud of a bullethitting against their thick hides. It is a mistake to suppose that aleaden bullet will not penetrate the skin of a rhinoceros. On thecontrary, the hide, though thick, is comparatively soft, and yieldseasily to either a spear or a ball--so that every shot took effect. Thehunters, _par excellence_, Hendrik and Groot Willem, fired most of theshots, aiming behind the fore-shoulder for the heart and lungs--for inthese parts the shot proves fatal. A bullet into the brain would have alike effect; but as the brain of the rhinoceros is exceedingly small inproportion to the size of the animal, it requires a sure aim to strikeit; and the more certain way is to aim for the lungs.
So aimed Hendrik and Groot Willem; and what with the large leaden ballsof the roer, and the small but better directed pellets of the rifle,both the muchochos were at length made to bite the dust. The calf wasshot afterwards; for after the fall of its parents, the creature did notattempt to run away, but stood by the body of its mother, jerking itslittle tail about, and wondering what the trouble was all about.
A very, ludicrous scene was now witnessed, that caused the young yagersto break into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Their laughter,however, did not come until after the incident was over which gave riseto it--for there was danger in the scene, and it was somewhat painful towitness it.
It was as follows. The rhinoceros, like the American bison, when shotdown by the hunter, rarely falls in the common way of other animals--upon its side--but usually sinks down upon his breast, and there remainseven after death has taken place.
The two shot by Hendrik and Groot Willem had offered no exception to therule. Both lay upon their bellies at a little distance from the wagons,their broad massive backs turned upward.
Now a practice equally common among Bushmen, whenever a rhinoceros hasbeen killed, is to leap upon the animal's back, thrust their spears intoits flesh to try the depth, and discover whether the game be fat, andconsequently valuable!
In the carrying out of this custom, no sooner had the great bullrhinoceros sunk down under the shots, than our Bushman, Swartboy, seeingthat all danger was over, leaped forth from the wagon, and running up towhere the dead animal lay, sprang upon its back! Shouting out a wildcry of triumph, he plunged his _assegai_ into the flesh of the muchochoto the depth of a foot or more.
Almost at the same instant, the animal, which was not yet dead, rose toits feet again, and charged once more across the sward, with the Bushmanupon its back!
The shout of triumph, which Swartboy had uttered, was suddenlyinterrupted, and cries of a far different import now rang through theglen; while the rhinoceros, no doubt impelled to fresh energy of life bythe terrible pain he suffered from the Bushman's spear, charged roundand round, as though he had quite recovered!
Swartboy, on the other hand, dared not leap to the ground, lest he mightbe impaled upon the dread horns, but held fast to the spear, which,still buried in the animal's thick flesh, served him as a _pointd'appui_!
How Swartboy would have been delivered, had the strength of the muchochoheld out, it is hard to say; but this gave way at length, and the hugequadruped once more sank to the earth, pitching the Bushman severalyards over his head!
Swartboy did not lie long where he had been flung; but, sprawling upagain, ran back at top speed to the wagons, where he was welcomed byyells of laughter! The oxen were soon overtaken and brought back, thecalf of the muchocho regularly butchered, and that night the youngyagers enjoyed a supper of "rhinoceros veal."