A FIGHT WITH A RHINO 



camera. There was the possibihty of a magnificent 

 moving picture, or there would have been but for the 

 fact that the one-eyed camera-bearer was up a tree, 

 with the camera strapped to his back, and he absolutely 

 refused to descend until the rhino had either been 

 killed or taken its departure. Perhaps he was not 

 altogether to blame. The finest film in the world 

 would have left him cold and uninterested, and he 

 knew far better than I did the danger of coming 

 within reach of the beast's terrible horn. 



The rhino himself had already turned on the Masai 

 who had stabbed him, but the moment he did so the 

 first spearman was down his tree like a flash, and in 

 less time than it takes to relate he too had driven his 

 weapon through the thick hide. The animal now 

 seemed to lose his head. The two enemies confused 

 him. He did not know quite which one to tackle, and 

 so gave them the chance to finish him off. The first 

 spear, the one which had penetrated the lung, had 

 dropped out ; now it was picked up and once more 

 thrust into him, inflicting a wound which laid him low 

 immediately. 



It had been a splendid fight, merely a question of 

 seconds from start to finish, a great exhibition of 

 courage and skill. I would have given a great deal 

 to have secured a photographic record of it ; but the 

 moving picture camera of those days was very different 

 from my spring camera of to-day. It was distinctly 



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