THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



before I had time even to lower the gun, Mabruki's, the 

 gun bearer's, voice rang out from the top of a nearby 

 tree, " Bwana, ingine anakuja " ("Master, another one 

 is coming "). 



Hardly had he finished his sentence than I saw Rhino 

 No. 2 charging down upon me from another side, and, 

 turning toward him, I gave him the second barrel, with 

 which I was fortunate enough to hit the head again just 

 back of the second horn, and down he went, stone dead. 

 Within less than a minute's time and with only two suc- 

 cessive shots of the big Express gun, I had succeeded 

 in felling the first two rhinos which I had ever seen at 

 large. 



It is impossible to describe the joy I felt when I was 

 resting on the side of one of my fallen " enemies," for if 

 I had not understood any of the language of the men, 

 or had I hesitated and returned to camp at their sugges- 

 tion, I probably would never have had this wonderful ex- 

 perience. It is in a case like this that the hunter cannot 

 depend upon anybody else for protection, and in such 

 dense jungle he has to rely upon his own nerve, swiftness 

 of decision and good aim, more than upon any fellow 

 huntsman, be he ever so near at hand. To show how un- 

 certain it is to count on the stupidity of the rhino, or to 

 believe, as a prominent English sportsman and author af- 

 firms, that perhaps only once out of two hundred and fifty 

 times the rhino means mischief when charging, as he 

 is coming on only to " investigate," I will here relate a few 

 facts that certainly speak for themselves. 



Dr. Kolb, a German scientist and hunter, was one day 

 bird-shooting a few years ago in German East Africa, 



146 



