162 TREKKING [ch. mi 



—a bull, a cow, and a big calf —nearly a mile ahead of 

 us. We were travelling down wind, and they scented 

 us, but did not charge, making ofF in a semicircle, and 

 halting when abreast of us. We examined them care- 

 fully through the glasses. The cow was bigger than the 

 bull, and had fair horns, but nothing extraordinary; 

 and as we were twelve miles from camp, so that Heller 

 would have had to come out for the night if we shot 

 her, we decided to leave her alone. Then our attention 

 was attracted by seeing the game all gazing in one 

 direction, and we made out a hyena. I got a shot at it, 

 at three hundred yards, but missed. Soon afterward we 

 saw another rhino, but on approacliing it proved to be 

 about two-thirds grown, with a stuliby horn. We did 

 not wish to shoot it, and therefore desired to avoid 

 a charge ; and so we passed three or four hundred yards 

 to leeward, trusting to its bad eyesight. Just opposite 

 it, when it was on our right, we saw another hyena on 

 our left, about as far off as the rhino. I decided to 

 take a shot, and run the chance of disturbing the rhino. 

 So I knelt down and aimed with the little Springfield, 

 keeping the Holland by me to be ready for events. 

 I never left camp, on foot or on horseback, for any dis- 

 tance, no matter how short, without carrying one of the 

 repeating-rifles ; and when on a hunt my two gun- 

 bearers carried, one the other magazine rifle, and one 

 the double-barrelled Holland. 



Tarlton, whose eye for distance was good, told me 

 the hyena was over three hundred yards ofF ; it was 

 walking slowly to the left. I put up the three-hundred- I 

 yard sight, and drew a rather coarse bead ; and down 

 went the hyena with its throat cut. The little sharp- 

 pointed, full-jacketed bullet makes a slashing wound. 

 The distance was just three hundred and fifty long 



