It plows up the roots with the aid of its horn, and gathers the branches and leaves with the upper lip which is long and pointed, and with which the food is rolled together before placing it in the mouth.
The flesh of the rhinoceros is good to eat; and its strong, thick skin is made by the natives, into shields, whips, and other articles.
Though clumsy and apparently very stupid, the rhinoceros is a very active animal when attacked or otherwise alarmed, dashing about with wonderful rapidity.
It is very fierce and savage—so much so that the natives dread it more than they do the lion. In hunting the animal, it is dangerous for a man to fire at one unless he is mounted upon a swift horse, and can easily reach some place of safety.
When attacking an enemy, the rhinoceros lowers its head and rushes forward like an angry goat. Though it may not see the object of its attack, the sense of smell is so acute that it knows about when the enemy is reached.
Then begins a furious tossing of the head, and if the powerful horn strikes the foe, a terrible wound is the result.
When wounded itself, the rhinoceros loses all sense of fear, and charges again and again with such desperate fury that the enemy is almost always overcome.
A famous traveler in South Africa relates the following incident that happened during one of his hunting excursions:
"Having proceeded about two miles, I came upon a black rhinoceros, feeding on some Wait-a-bit thorns within fifty yards of me.
"I fired from the saddle, and sent a bullet