HUNTING LIONS. 397 



immediately he saw me, and, charging up the bank, so frightened GUI 

 horses, that before I could get my rifle from my after-rider he was. 

 past us I then gave him chase ; and after a hard gallop of about 

 a mile I sprang from my horse and gave him a good shot behind the 

 shoulder. At this moment a cow rhinocerous of the same species, 

 with her calf, charged out of some wait-a-bit thorn-cover, and stood 

 right in my path. Observing that she carried an unusually long horn 

 I turned my attention from the bull to her; and after a very long 

 and severe chase I dropped her at the sixth shot. I carried one of 

 my rifles, which gave me much trouble, that not being the tool required 

 for this sort of work, where quick loading is indispensable. 



After breakfast I sent men to cut off the head of this rhinoceros, 

 and proceeded with Ruyter to take up the spoor of the bull wounded 

 in the morning. We found that he was very severely hit, and, having 

 followed the spoor for about a mile through very dense thorn-cover, 

 he suddenly rustled out of the bushes close ahead of us, accompanied 

 by a whole host of rhinoceros birds. I mounted my horse and gave 

 him chase, and in a few minutes he had received four severe shots 

 I managed to turn his course towards camp, when I ceasetl firing, as 

 ne seemed to be nearly done up, and Ruyter and I rode slowly behind 

 him, occasionally shouting to guide his course. Presently, however, 

 Chukuroo ceased taking any notice of us, and held leisurely on for 

 the river, into a shallow part of which he walked, and after panting 

 there and turning about for a quarter of an hour he fell over and 

 expired. This was a remarkably fine old bull, and from his dentition 

 it was not improbable that a hundred summers had seen him roaming 

 as a peaceful denizen of the forests and open glades along the fair banka 

 of the secluded Mariqua. 



During our march on the 19th we had to cross a range of very 

 rocky hills, covered with large loose stones ; and all hands were re- 

 quired to be actively employed for about an hour in clearing them 

 out of the way to permit the wagons to pass. The work went on fast 

 and furious, and the quantity of stones cleared was immense. Wa 

 had now reached the spot where we were obliged to bid adieu to the 

 Mariqua, and hold a westerly course across ** Country for Sichely 



