316 THE MOSQUITOES INTOLERABLE. 



brute, seeing he was foiled, tried to turn after me, but 

 the impetus prevented his succeeding, and I gave him 

 the second barrel at four yards as he passed, rolling 

 him down the hill like a rabbit. "When 1 got down to 

 him I found he was not dead, but a shot in the head 

 put him out of pain. This was the first rhinoceros I 

 had ever killed, and the only wild one I had seen. 

 I roared "WaiFa! waifa!" (dead! dead!) and in an 

 instant the sides of Moriimballa, which had scarce 

 yet finished echoing the report of the last shot, re- 

 sounded with the triumphant and demoniac yells of 

 my stout companions, who were soon on the spot, and 

 no lono^er in the least afraid of the rhinoceros. 



The mosquitoes here were intolerable, though it was 

 little more than two o'clock p.m. On my way home, 

 passing along the plain at the foot of the moun- 

 tain, and not very far from the river, I saw a fine 

 waterbuck on the hill-side a long way oiF, look- 

 ing at us. Seeing no chance of getting closer, I 

 put up the two hundred and fifty yards sight and fired. 

 However, the elevation was not enough, for the bullet 

 struck a rock just under his body. This caused him 

 to run about fifty yards higher up the hill, when he 

 again stood and stared at me. Up went the three 

 hundred yards sight, and again I fired. I heard a hit, 

 and the buck, rearing up, fell back dead. 



My men, who were some distance behind, now 

 came running up, and requested me to hurry home, as 

 the mosquitoes were eating them. On my asking 

 them to come and see the spot where the bullet had 

 hit the rock, they objected, saying it was a long way 



