Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/204

172 12½ ft., tail 2 ft., height 6 ft. 2 in., horn 14 in. As a rule all Rhinoceroses are inoffensive; they inhabit such remote localities that they can seldom do damage to cultivation; yet if some ryot cultivates a patch of ground, and the pachyderms get scent of it, they will soon devour it. They are nocturnal by habit, and retire to dense thickets in the midst of a swamp soon after sunrise. It is naturally a timid animal, more anxious to escape than fight, and, notwithstanding their thick hides, far easier to kill than a Buffalo. It is an exploded idea that their skins are impenetrable. The outer cuticle offers no great resistance whilst on the living animal, but when removed and dried in the sun it will turn aside an ordinary bullet fired with a moderate charge of powder; yet heavy rifles with large bores and immense driving power behind are absolutely requisite, for the vital spots have between them and the skin such a mass of blubber, muscle, and bone that only a hardened ball driven as above described can reach them. If shot behind the ear an ordinary smooth-bore will account for them. I have seen a shikar knife driven in to the hilt behind the shoulder of one just killed by an ordinary man. The best material to mix with lead to harden the bullets is quicksilver. It should not be allowed to remain long in the crucible, as it will then evaporate; one-twelfth of quicksilver is sufficient. If too much is used the bullet gets brittle and flies to pieces on impact.

The R. indicus has only one horn, seldom 18 in. long, generally a good deal less; this is liable to fall off through injury or disease, but another will grow in its place. It is formed by a coagulation of hair, and the Indian variety only uses it to dig up roots, and never as a weapon of attack, like the African pachyderms. It has two formidable tusks in the lower jaw, and with one of them he can cut an Elephant's leg to the bone; and in season they fight a good deal amongst themselves, for I have seen not only the males but the cows scored all over. The skin is exceedingly thick, with a deep fold at the setting-on of the head, another behind the shoulder, and another in front of the thighs; two large incisors in each jaw, with two smaller intermediate ones below, and two still smaller outside the upper incisors, not always present. General colour dusky black. They are very plentiful along the Terai, and in the Durrung, Nowgong, and Goalpara