A RIDE THROUGH RHINO COUNTRY § 325 
shot twice into the one animal. When we stepped forward 
on top of two dead rhino, he leaped backward, thinking 
we had another untouched animal before us. My Brownie, 
cool as ever, had seen our second danger and had shot 
at the same moment as myself. He made a good shot 
for him, for he had actually scored in the fleshy part of 
the hind leg, a wound he took care to point out to me 
with pride, as I always chaffed him about not being able to 
hit anything. 
Such is the rhino in East Africa. Nineteen times out 
of twenty, even in dense bush, he will rush away from you. 
But, as Bernard Shaw’s play says, “you never can tell.’’ 
And if as in this case there are two of them and they charge 
suddenly home, it is a very serious matter indeed. Two 
charging together have killed or maimed many a good 
man. When the bush is dense, when the little rhino 
birds fly up a few yards in front, itisbest to go round or 
hunt somewhere else. I know that I shall next time. 
Though the story I have just told proves conclusively 
enough that rhino in thick brush can at times be most 
dangerous, it by no means follows that all the yarns one 
constantly hears of charging rhino are true. The trouble 
is that most men when they shoot at a rhino, follow up 
their first shot with a stream of bullets. Indeed, after 
the first shot is fired, there is a good deal of excitement 
and confusion. It is the same story with elephant and 
with lion. I think this common plan is a bad one. If 
the first shot 1s, as it should be, carefully planted in a vital 
place, there is no need to fire any more. Indeed, a constant 
fire draws the animal’s attention to where you are. If, 
on the other hand, you are sitting down quietly on the 
ground, the very great probability is that, confused and 
stunned by the impact of a modern bullet, your game 
has no idea where you are. He may rush toward you, 
though the chances are very many to one that he will not. 
