The rhinoceros is nocturnal in his habits. At the approach of dusk he commences his rambles, and, if not disturbed, generally visits the pool at an early hour of the evening; afterward he not unfrequently wanders over a great extent of country. Soon after sunrise he seeks repose and shelter against the heat under some friendly mimosa, or the projecting ledge of a rock, where he spends the day in sleep, either stretched at full length or in a standing position. Thus seen from a distance, he may easily be mistaken for the fragment of a rock.
The Asiatic species is frequently kept in confinement, but, though generally tractable, his morose and savage nature makes him rather dangerous. The least provocation often puts him into a tempest of passion, when he will not hesitate to destroy his best friend. In his rage he will jump about, and leap to a great height, driving his head furiously, and with incredible swiftness, against the partitions of his place of confinement. Three or four specimens are at the present day alive in England.
The flesh of the rhinoceros varies greatly in quality. That of the “black” species, from its leanness, and the animal feeding on the “wait-a-bit” thorn bushes, which gives it an acrid and bitter flavor, is not over-esteemed. That of the white, on the other hand, whose sustenance consists of grass, which imparts to it an agreeable taste, coupled with its usual fatness, is greatly sought after by natives and colonists. Indeed, the flesh of this animal seems always to have been in repute in the Cape Colony. Kolben, when speaking of it, says, “The flesh of a rhinoceros, which I have often eaten with a great deal of satisfaction, is not so sinewy as some writers have represented.”
The horns of the rhinoceros, which are capable of a high polish, are a valuable article of commerce. At the Cape this commodity fetches half as much as ordinary elephant ivory. It is extensively used in the manufacture of sword-handles, drinking-cups, ramrods for rifles, and a variety of other purposes. In Turkey the rhinoceros horn is much esteemed, more especially such as have a reddish tint about the grain. These, when made into cups, the Turks believe to have the virtue of detecting poison.
“The horns of the rhinoceros,” says Thunberg, “were kept by some people, both in town and country, not only as rarities, but also as useful in diseases, and for the purpose of detecting poison. As to the former of these intentions, the fine shavings of the horns taken internally were supposed to cure convulsions and spasms in children. With respect to the latter, it was generally believed that goblets made of these horns in a turner’s lathe would discover a poisonous draft that was put into them by making the liquor ferment till it ran quite out of the goblet. Such horns as were taken from a rhinoceros calf were said to be the best, and the most to be depended upon.”
“The horn of the rhinoceros,” Kolben tells us, “will not endure the touch of poison. I have often been a witness to this. Many people of fashion at the Cape have cups turn’d out of the rhinoceros horn. Some have them set in silver, and some in gold. If wine is pour’d into one of these cups, it immediately rises and bubbles up as if it were boiling; and if there be poison in it, the cup immediately splits. If poison be put by itself into one of those cups, the cup, in an instant, flies to pieces. Tho’ this matter is known to thousands of persons, yet some writers have affirm’d that the rhinoceros horn has no such virtue. The chips made in turning one of those cups are ever carefully sav’d, and return’d to the owner of the cup, being esteem’d of great benefit in convulsions, faintings, and many other illnesses.”
The chase of the rhinoceros is variously conducted in Southern Africa. One of the most approved plans is to stalk the animal either when feeding or reposing. If the sportsman keep well under the wind, and there be the least cover, he has no difficulty in approaching the beast within easy range, when, if the ball be well directed, the prey is usually killed on the spot. With a little precaution, this kind of sport may be conducted without greatly endangering a person’s safety.
But by far the most convenient way of destroying this animal is to shoot him from the “skärm” as he comes to the pool to quench his thirst. In this manner I have myself killed several scores of rhinoceroses.
Occasionally he is also taken in pitfalls, which are constructed in pretty much the same manner as those for the capture of elephants and other large game.