THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 305 



\vere nearly confumed ; and then they come out eafily, the 

 thin part being of no vahie. 



The next morning we were on horfeback by the dawn 

 of day in fearch of the rhinoceros, many of which we had 

 heard make a very deep groan and cry as the morning ap- 

 proached ; feveral of the Agageers then joined us, and after 

 we had fearched about an hour in the very thickefl part 

 of the v/ood, one of them ruflied out with great violence, 

 crofQng the plain towards a wood of canes that was about 

 two miles diftance. But though he ran, or rather trotted, 

 with furprifing fpecd, confidering his bulk, he was, in a 

 very little time, transfixed with thirty or forty javelins: which 

 fo confounded him, that lie left his purpofe of going to the 

 wood, and ran into a deep hole, ditch, or ravine, a cul defac^ 

 w^ithout outlet, breaking above a dozen of the javelins as 

 he entered. Here we thought he was caught as in a trap, 

 for he had fcarce room to turn ; when a fervant, who had 

 41 gun, Handing dire6tly over him, fired at his head, and 

 the animal fell immediately, to all appearance dead. All 

 thofe on foot now jumped in v/ith their knives to cut 

 him up, and they had fcarce begun, when the animal 

 recovered fo far as to rife upon l^is knees ; happy then was 

 •the man that efcaped firft ; and had not one of the Aga- 

 geers, VntIio v/as himfelf engaged in the ravine, cut the fmew 

 of the hind-leg as he was retreating, tliere would have been 

 a very forrowfuj account of the foot-hunters that day. 



Atter having difpatchcd him, I was curious to fee what 



wound the fhot had given, which had operated fo violently 



upon fo huge an animal ; and I doubted not it v/as in the' 



ferain. But it had flruck him nowhere but upon the pc int of 



Vol, IV. CLq the 



