With quite as little personal beauty as the Pachydermata of which I have
hitherto treated, the Rhinoceros takes his place among the powerful of
the earth. He has no tusks, but bears one or two horns upon his nose. Of
these, when there are two, the foremost is the largest, all are curved
and polished, and appear to be formed of hairs, aggregated into a solid
mass. The bones of the nose are remarkably thickened and developed into
that form which is best adapted to resist a shock--namely, the arch; and
by this, not only is the animal able to carry its horn high, but to bear
the tremendous resistance with which it meets when it uses that horn. In
all but one species the upper lip is prolonged, and capable of such
extension that it becomes prehensile; it protrudes this lip, lowers its
horn or horns, so as to lean forwards, and rushes at the object of its
anger or dislike with almost inconceivable fury. I have already
contradicted the assertion, that it seeks the elephant for the purpose
of giving him battle, on which occasion it was said to sharpen its horn
against a stone just before the engagement: according to Mr. Gordon
Cumming's account, they inhabit the same neighbourhood without
exhibiting any particular enmity towards each other.
As far as we know at present, there are six species, all of which
inhabit Africa and India, including Java and Sumatra; they have three
toes on each foot covered with a hoof. The sides of their body project
in a remarkable degree; their skin is enormously thick, knotty in its
surface, and has but a few hairs scattered over it. The Indian
rhinoceroses have enormous folds of this skin, hanging upon the
shoulders, haunches, neck and thighs, looking as if each fold covered a
thick rope; the ears of all are erect, the eyes small and near the nose;
the tail short; they carry their heads so low that they almost touch the
earth; they plough up the ground with their horn, scattering stones and
soil without any apparent motive, and few things can resist the
impetuous force which they put forth, when they rush upon an object
which has excited their fury. Their smell and hearing are extremely
acute, so that it is difficult to approach them; but as their sight is
very limited, they may be avoided by slipping on one side when they are
in pursuit of an enemy.
The Javanese and Sumatran species are smaller, lighter, and consequently
less ferocious and powerful than the others. Both in Africa and India
there is a superstition with regard to the horns of all the species,
which the natives declare are sensibly acted on by poison. It is the
custom to make cups of them, and in India it is said, that liquid poison
poured into them, effervesces in such a manner that it overflows the
cup. In Africa, the inhabitants assure you, that the cup will turn black
from the same cause; and that water drunk from them possesses medicinal
properties, especially if stirred with iron. The folds on the skin of
the African species are much less than those of the Indian, and amount
to scarcely more than wrinkles. The latter have been known to live a
hundred years, and when young, their skin has a pink tinge. All eat the
young branches of trees, and shrubs, and grass.
It has been observed, that the skin of the African rhinoceros is so full
of insects, that birds are in the habit of perching upon them, for the
purpose of feeding on these insects. They suffer their winged friends to
remain undisturbed, thinking, that as long as they stay, no enemy is
near; but if they fly off, some danger is approaching, for which they
immediately look out. These birds are not unlike the missal thrush, and
remain by their friends till they are forced to leave them. When the
latter are shot, they fly away, uttering a harsh cry, and return to
their positions when all is quiet, even adhering to them all night. This
may be also the case in India; but I have only seen it recorded of
Africa.
I should suppose that the loud blowing noise attributed to the African
rhinoceros, holds good with all. The black variety is the most
dangerous; they ramble about at night, and go to the river to drink,
between the hours of nine and twelve. Those sudden fits of frenzy, to
which all are liable, are particularly outrageous in them; and they have
been seen to attack the bushes around them for hours at a time; uttering
a strange noise, something like the combination of a grunt and a
whistle. Their flesh is rather like beef, perhaps having even a finer
flavour. They go about singly or in pairs, are much the most active, and
pursue any object which attracts them with a perseverance which is quite
ludicrous. According to Major Harris, much of the brain lies under the
horns, and he saw them sometimes assemble in herds of thirty-two. The
best place to aim at, when it is desirable to kill them, is behind the
shoulder. Before they charge, they stand rolling their body from side to
side. They become furious at the sight of fire, and in order to get at
it, they dash forward with mad fury, nor rest till they have scattered
and extinguished all the burning wood.
The White Rhinoceroses have a longer neck than the others. Their muzzle
is shorter, and more square, resembling that of the ox.
Most of the rhinoceroses brought to Europe have been remarkably
good-tempered and docile; but one which was lodged in Exeter Change, was
only kept in order by the whip; no kindness having any effect upon him,
especially in his sudden fits of fury, which were of the most frightful
violence.
Mr. Burchell's measurement of a rhinoceros, made him eleven feet from
the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail, and the girth of the
body was eight feet four inches.
"Some years ago," says Captain Brown, "a party of Europeans, with their
native attendants and elephants (of course this must have been in
India) met with a small band of seven (rhinoceroses). These were led by
a larger, and more powerful animal than the rest. When this large leader
charged the hunters, the first elephants, in place of using their tusks
as weapons, wheeled round, and received the blow of the rhinoceros's
horn on their hind quarters; and so powerful was the concussion, that it
brought them instantly to the ground with their riders; and as soon as
they could get on their feet again, the brute was ready to repeat the
attack, and was certain to produce another fall; and in this manner did
the contest continue, until four of the seven were killed, when the rest
made good their retreat."