106 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



Walking lightly, and with every sense keyed up, we 

 at last reached the bush, and I pushed forward the safety 

 of the double-barrelled Holland rifle which I was now to 

 use for the first time on big game. As I stepped to one side 

 of the bush so as to get a clear aim, with Slatter following, 

 the rhino saw me and jumped to his feet with the agility of 

 a polo pony. As he rose I put in the right barrel, the bullet 

 going through both lungs. At the same moment he wheeled, 

 the blood spouting from his nostrils, and galloped full on 

 us. Before he could get quite all the way round in his head- 

 long rush to reach us, I struck him with my left-hand 

 barrel, the bullet entering between the neck and shoulder 

 and piercing his heart. At the same instant Captain Slatter 

 fired, his bullet entering the neck vertebrae. Ploughing up 

 the ground with horn and feet, the great bull rhino, still 

 head toward us, dropped just thirteen paces from where 

 we stood. 



This was a wicked charge, for the rhino meant mischief 

 and came on with the utmost determination. It is not safe 

 to generalize from a few instances. Judging from what I 

 have since seen, I am inclined to believe that both lion and 

 buffalo are more dangerous game than rhino; yet the first 

 two rhinos I met both charged, whereas we killed our first 

 four lions and first four buffaloes without any of them 

 charging, though two of each were stopped as they were 

 on the point of charging. Moreover, our experience with 

 this bull rhino illustrates what I have already said as to one 

 animal being more dangerous under certain conditions, and 

 another more dangerous under different conditions. If it 

 had been a lion instead of a rhino, my first bullet would, 

 I believe, have knocked all the charge out of it; but the 

 vitality of the huge pachyderm was so great, its mere bulk 

 counted for so much, that even such a hard-hitting rifle as 

 my double Holland than which I do not believe there 

 exists a better weapon for heavy game could not stop 

 it outright, although either of the wounds inflicted would 

 have been fatal in a few seconds. 



