ADVENTURES ON MT. MIKENO 215 
There was not the straight drop of the other day 
but a steep slope which could be done on all fours— 
for twenty feet—and then straight down two hundred 
feet. I got a fair sight of an old black female and it 
looked as though the bushes she was in would hold her 
if I killed her instantly. She was fifty feet away. I 
fired and she came exactly as the other one had—the 
slope was so steep it was practically a fall—and 
straight at me. I tried to dodge but could not as 
_ the recoil of the gun had caused me to lose my balance 
a bit and I could not recover in time. I threw myself 
flat, face down, just in time and she passed over me. 
It was so steep and the mass of green stuff going with 
her so softened things that I merely felt her—there 
was no perceptible shock, but when I got up I hada 
great welt on the top of my head which she had 
caused. As I partially rose there seemed to be an 
avalanche of gorillas. There was a big ball of black 
fur, squealing madly, rolling past—actually touching 
me—in the wake of the old one. I took a shot at it 
as it went over, and, by the time I had recovered and 
reloaded, two others that had been close by had 
disappeared. 
I believe that to be the fastest charge ever made by 
a gorilla against man. I think it was pushed home 
with more abandon than any other on record. I am 
almost certain of these two statements, the particular 
reason for my certainty being that the gorilla, when 
she charged or more correctly speaking fell down 
the hill, was dead and she couldn’t have any of the 
hesitations which I believe prevent such charges by 
