282 THE LAND OF THE LION 
is company. He keeps to himself; all other beasts move 
out of his way. The native hates him and fears him 
more than he does any other animal, far more than the 
lion, and the feeling is most natural. His spear, made of 
wrought iron, with its keen point and four-foot blade, he 
can drive through and through a lion, but it is a poor weapon 
when matched against this monster’s bulk and horny hide. 
He lets the lion alone and the lion avoids him, but no man 
can tell what an aroused rhino will do. He is so blind 
that he cannot see anything at a greater distance than 
fifty yards. When he sees it he seems to act as the fancy 
takes him. If it is the long line of a marching sefari, 
sometimes he rushes off and far as the eye can follow 
never abates his pace. Sometimes he rushes on, and then 
down in a trice go the loads, some pretty strong and some 
very breakable, while with extraordinary activity, the 
sefari takes to the trees, dodges behind ant hills, and under- 
goes in short a very complete demoralization and 
disbandment. 
One day on a former trip such a rhino, accompanied 
by her calf, put my men up trees and danced on some of 
my loads. To-day, however, we were lucky and came 
through unmolested. And so the sunny morning passed 
away and we neared our camping ground. As we did 
so pleasant sights and sounds greeted us. Across the 
river was a munyata, Massai herds were grazing near 
and on a beautiful bit of level sward by the river 
bank a dozen or more black totos were playing one 
of those children’s games which are the same the wide 
world over. 
As I stood to watch them I noticed in the sand at my 
feet the foot marks of a large lion who came there to drink 
after his kill this morning, and then, for reasons best known 
to himself, did what lions seldom do, took to the water and 
swam the rapid current. There were the tracks in the 
