THE AFRICAN RHINOCEROS 



us at distances of from one hundred to two hundred yards 

 and over, when all of them would run away, with the ex- 

 ception of one old bull, which was lying down when I 

 approached him. This rhino remained motionless, with 

 his eyes evidently fixed on me, as I advanced with camera 

 in one hand and the big Express in the other. Finally, 

 when within less than fifty yards of the beast, as I was 

 trying to make a semicircle around him to the southward, 

 so as to be able to get a better light for the picture, he 

 followed me with his head, and then suddenly rushed up, 

 made a couple of angry sniffs, and charged right down 

 on us, snorting like a steam engine. 



In spite of very careful work, great patience, and 

 strong, favorable wind, I have never been able to approach 

 a rhino that was awake nearer than about seventy yards 

 on the open plains before he noticed me. I have several 

 times actually paced the distance between me and the 

 rhinos, which ran away, when they saw me even as far 

 off as from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred 

 and seventy-five yards. The distance at which the beasts 

 would either run away or charge us depended doubtlessly 

 also on the different districts where they were found — i. e., 

 whether they had been much hunted or not. If much dis- 

 turbed, even the vicious rhino learns that man with his 

 firearms is too dangerous an enemy to encounter. On 

 the other hand, one of the most sudden and dangerous 

 charges I experienced was made by an old bull, which had 

 evidently been wounded a good many times before, as I 

 found in his skin two Wandorobo arrowheads and several 

 other wounds from bullets. 



Accompanied by a few men and taking only a rifle and 



139 



