386 THE GREAT THIRST LAND. 



Plenty of meat hung to the wagon, and as on 

 the previous evening the hoys, foreloper and all, for 

 that worthy had turned up when he found me resolved 

 to go, huilt an enormous fire close by, and hetween 

 eating and shouting kept me awake. Towards daylight 

 this was still going on, when I heard several exclamations 

 of terror. I looked out of the front of the wagon. The 

 boys were %ing helter-skelter everywhere, and a rhino- 

 ceros was trotting backwards and forwards across the fire, 

 tossing carosses, skins, cooking-utensils, and blankets about 

 as if they each contained some body. From England I 

 had brought several red blankets, one of which in a weak 

 moment I gave to Umganey. As it lay beside the fire 

 it seemed to particularly take the fancy of the irate 

 beast. At it he went, got his horn well into it, but there 

 it seemed to stick, the more he shook his head the 

 more it seemed tightly to wrap itself around it, entirely 

 hiding the eyes. A struggle or two more was made, but 

 still without avail ; and the rhinoceros, ever grotesque, 

 and more so under present circumstances than ever I 

 saw it before, with a snort, bound, and kick started off as 

 hard as he could go for the sombre shadows of the 

 forest, with a two -ounce bullet behind his shoulder. How 

 he escaped knocking that ornamental headpiece of his 

 against a tree, an accident which did not occur as long 

 as he was in sight, was truly wonderful. In the morning 

 he was found dead. 



Before daylight I turned out to see the cattle 

 yoked; it was very cool, my teeth almost chattered 

 as I went round about directing; exercise and employ- 

 ment soon corrected this, so again I headed the cavalcade 

 to our next halting-place, as pretty a spot as can well be 

 imagined. A ridge of hills appeared to bar our way : 



