172 THROUGH GASA LAND. 



to the left, made an opening for its broad carcass 

 between my legs — which, let me tell the reader, 

 are rather long ones — and sent me spread-eagle 

 fashion into a bush. I have had many a fall in the 

 hunting field and in riding steeplechases, but never 

 before got such a severe one. Of a fact, an irate 

 young rhinoceros is a small devil incarnate, with 

 power enough in his body to serve all the purposes 

 of an ordinary ship's donkey engine. 



We had not with us anything to tie the little beast 

 up with, and, without making him captive, nothing 

 further could we do, not even approach the dead 

 mother ; so I despatched one of the Zulus to camp 

 for a buffalo hide which I used as a ground rug, 

 intending to cut it into r/ieims, out of which to form 

 a couple of lassoes, with which I had no doubt we 

 would soon bring the headstrong juvenile to 

 reason. 



While my messenger was gone we inspected the 

 lion ; he was a splendid beast, and in the perfec- 

 tion of health, condition, and coat. My bullet had 

 entered his body just over the apex of the breast- 

 bone, and must have caused instantaneous death. 

 I asked Sunday if it was a common occurrence for 

 lions to attack rhinoceri ; he assured me that he had 

 never known an instance before, but supposed that 

 from the smell of blood, or indications of weakness, 

 they thought that the mother was incapable of 

 defending her young, so intended, as the Colonists 



