"The natives hunt the rhinoceros by driving him into pitfalls, and then piercing him with hundreds of spears. By the time they are through with the business he is stuck so full of the weapons that he resembles a gigantic porcupine, with quills on a colossal scale. The slaughter of a rhinoceros is a formidable affair with them, and they look with wonder on the weapons of the white man and the comparative ease with which this powerful animal is brought down by it. "One day, while Captain Speke was in the country of King Rumanika, he asked the monarch to allow him to hunt the rhinoceros. Of course the king was glad to have him do so, and sent two of his sons to manage the affair. They went to a thicket where the rhinoceros was said to abound, and as soon as Speke had taken up a good position the beaters went to work to drive out the game. "They roused up a fine old rhinoceros, which paused close to where the hunter was standing, and enabled him to creep up and give the beast a shot in the side. The animal trotted off, bleeding internally, and soon lay down and gave a chance for a finishing shot. A little time afterward three others were started; two of them were bagged by Speke, who ordered the heads cut off and sent to the king, as proofs of what the white man could do. [Illustration: SPEKE DELIVERING THE SPOILS OF HIS HUNT TO KING RUMANIKA.] "Speke then went home to breakfast. As soon as he was through with his meal he went to meet the king, who was just examining the trophies of the hunter's prowess. For a man to kill three of these huge beasts simply to get up an appetite for breakfast was too much for the king's equanimity, and he gave vent to his astonishment and admiration in no measured terms. "'This must have been done with something more potent than powder,' his majesty exclaimed; 'neither the Arabs nor N'anaji, although they talk of their shooting powers, could have accomplished such a great feat as this. It is no wonder the English are the greatest men in the world.' "Before we drop the topic of the rhinoceros," said the Doctor, "I must tell you about his horn, and some of the fables connected with it. "It was formerly gravely stated that the horn of the rhinoceros was ordinarily flexible, like the trunk of an elephant, and became stiffened into a weapon only when the beast was enraged. The story probably arose from the fact, as I have before stated, that the horn is not attached to the nose, but rests on a basis of bone connected with the skin.