'-•^ TliL' Minds of Aniinals 



and knowledcre stored up in llicir brains, to recofrnise in 

 detail tlic topography of tlie \('lt. and to find their way 

 with ease al)Out the surronnchn!^" country. 



Herein H('s the explanation of thf- tact that I was abl(! 

 very frequently to take up a rliinoceros track which l(;d me 

 in the driest S(;ason in a direct easterly- course after t'our 

 hoin's to a dried-up ditch which led due south to a small 

 pool which still held water. I ha\e noticed this kind 

 of thing hundnuls ot times in the \icinit\- of th(; velt, 

 where only intermittent showers of rain fill th(,' pools 

 temporarilv with water. How helpk-ssK' and hopelessly 

 lost does the educated man h-el himself to he in that 

 wilderness! In what a masterl\- and wonderful manner 

 does the rhinoceros lind his wa\' ! 



\ he friendship between my rhinoceros and the two 

 goats was founded on an absoIuteK' unselfish basis. It 

 arose from purely spiritual needs. Ol this 1 am positive. 



Many other animals in this distant Idack countr\- were 

 to us a real source ot enjcjyment and consolation. Take, 

 for example, my young elephant, who lox'ed me with child- 

 like simplicit), till I untortunatelx' lost him for want of 

 a foster-mother : also my tamci l^aboon, who used to be 

 alm(jst mad with joy when he saw me, a mere speck 

 on the horizon, returning to the CcUiip from one of my 

 excursions — his sight is infinitely keener than ours. 

 From earliest times we have heard tell of an unusually 

 wise bird that our ancestors nicknamed the " philosopher." 

 This is the marabou-stork, specimens ol which I have 

 come across whose wisd(jm and fondness tor human 

 companionship would scarcely be credited. 



37 



