160 EXPEDITION INTO [Chap, XIX. 



l^erfectly satisfied. Smacking their thick lips, pat- 

 ting their stomachs, and repeatedly exclaiming 

 " Chikore, Chikore'' they pointed out this'huge beast 

 standing stupidly under the shade of a spreading 

 acacia. I crept within thirty yards before firing, 

 but it vv^ not until he had received six two- ounce 

 bullets behind the shoulder that he yielded up the 

 ghost — charging repeatedly, with his snout almost 

 touching the ground, in so clumsy a manner, that 

 it was only necessary to step on one side to be per- 

 fectly safe. 



This grotesque -looking animal, which in many 

 points bears a ridiculous resemblance to, or rather 

 is a gross caricature upon, the " half reasoning 

 elephant," is upwards of six feet high at the 

 shoulder, its shapeless head exceeding four feet in 

 length. It is the larger, but less ferocious, of the 

 two species of African rhinoceros, neither of which 

 is clad in shell armour like their Asiatic brethren ; 

 they have in lieu, tough hides an inch and a half in 

 thickness, of which the whips known at the Cape 

 under the denomination of Sjamboks, are usually 

 manufactured. Both have double horns: those of 

 the black species are short, and sometimes nearly 

 of equal length — whilst the anterior horn of the 

 white rhinoceros is upwards of three feet in lengthy 

 tlie second being a mere excrescence. These animals 

 may be readily approached within a few yards, 

 against the wind, and being heavy and inert, their 

 attacks are easily avoided. 



Rejoining the waggons to breakfast, we found 



