THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



view " ended thus, as I did not want to kill another rhi- 

 noceros unless absolutely obliged to do so to protect my 

 life. 



The strength of the African rhino is almost incredible. 

 With ease he roots up trees and bushes, and is able to break 

 down the jungle and go through the thickets so thorny and 

 dense that one would think it absolutely impossible for any 

 beast to penetrate. During the construction of the Uganda 

 Railroad it more than once happened that rhinos took ex- 

 ception to the invading of their country, routed the work- 

 men off the track, and upset and destroyed wheelbarrows 

 and tools. On one occasion a huge rhinoceros rushed for- 

 ward toward a gang of workmen, who were fastening a 

 rail to its sleepers, scattered the men, and then made for the 

 construction car, which stood on the completed track a 

 few hundred feet farther away. It put its mighty horn 

 under the car and literally lifted it off the track, after which 

 performance the beast, sniffing and puffing, departed. It 

 took the workmen several hours to recover from their 

 fright and to jack the car onto the track again. Horses 

 and mules, and even cattle, have often been attacked by 

 these vicious brutes and tossed many feet up in the air, 

 horribly gored and mutilated by the powerful horns of the 

 rhinos. 



Much has been said about the poor sight of the rhinoc- 

 eros, and I have even heard prominent lecturers on Afri- 

 can topics, and also sportsmen, speak about it as the " blind 

 rhino." Although I know it is a generally accepted fact 

 that the rhino is " almost blind," this theory is, in my opin- 

 ion, not altogether warranted. I do not believe that he 

 is nearly as badly off in this respect as he is supposed to 



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