118 HIPPO AND LEOPARD [ch. v 



order to prevent mischief. In such circumstances it is 

 not to be expected that men will take too many chances 

 when face to face with a creature whose actions are 

 threatening and whose intentions it is absolutely im- 

 possible to divine. In fact, I do not see how the rhino- 

 ceros can be permanently preserved, save in very out- 

 of-the-way places or in regular game reserves. There 

 is enough interest and excitement in the pursuit to 

 attract every eager young hunter, and, indeed, very 

 many eager old hunters ; and the beast's stupidity, 

 curiosity, and truculence make up a combination of 

 qualities which inevitably tend to insure its destruction. 

 As we brought home the whole body of this rhino- 

 ceros, and as I had put into it eight bullets, five from 

 the Winchester and three from the Holland, I was able 

 to make a tolerably fair comparison between the two. 

 ^^^ith the full-jacketed bullets of the Winchester I had 

 mortally wounded the animal ; it would have died in a 

 short time, and it was groggy when it came out of the 

 brusli in its final charge ; but they inflicted no such 

 smashing blow as the heavy bullets of the Holland. 

 Moreover, when they struck the heavy bones they 

 tended to break into fragments, while the big Holland 

 bullets ploughed through. The Winchester and the 

 Springfield were the weapons one of which I always 

 carried in my own hand, and for any ordinary game I 

 much preferred them to any other rifles. The Win- 

 chester did admirably with lions, giraffes, elands, and 

 smaller game, and, as will be seen, with hippos. For 

 heavy game like the rhinoceroses and buffaloes I found 

 that for me personally the heavy Holland was un- 

 questionably the proper weapon. But in writing this 

 I wish most distinctly to assert my full knowledge of 

 the fact that the choice of a rifle is almost as much a 



