AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



he had not been able to get good ones of his on the previous 

 day. We also took the small ox wagon, so as to bring into 

 camp bodily the rhino if we got it and one or two zebras, 

 of which we wanted the flesh for the safari, the skeletons 

 for the museum. The night had been cool, but the day 

 was sunny and hot. At first we rode through a broad val- 

 ley, bounded by high, scrub-covered hills. The banks 

 of the dry stream were fringed with deep green acacias, and 

 here and there in relief against their dark foliage flamed 

 the orange-red flowers of the tall aloe clumps. With the 

 Springfield I shot a steinbuck and a lesser bustard. Then 

 we came out on the vast rolling brown plains. With the 

 Winchester I shot two zebra stallions, missing each stand- 

 ing, at long range, and then killing them as they ran; one 

 after a two-miles hard gallop, on my brown pony, which 

 had a good turn of speed. I killed a third zebra stallion 

 with my Springfield, again missing it standing and killing 

 it running. In mid-afternoon we spied our rhino, and 

 getting near saw that it had good horns. It was in the 

 middle of the absolutely bare plain, and we walked straight 

 up to the dull-sighted, dull-witted beast; Kermit with his 

 camera, I with the Holland double-barrel. The tick-birds 

 warned it, but it did not make us out until we were well 

 within a hundred yards, when it trotted toward us, head 

 and tail up. At sixty yards I put the heavy bullet straight 

 into its chest, and knocked it flat with the blow; as it tried 

 to struggle to its feet I again knocked it flat, with the left- 

 hand barrel; but it needed two more bullets before it died, 

 screaming like an engine whistle. Before I fired my last 

 shot I had walked up directly beside the rhino; and just 

 then Tarlton pointed me out a greater bustard, stalking 

 along with unmoved composure at a distance of a hun- 

 dred and fifty yards; I took the Springfield, and kneeling 

 down beside the rhino's hind quarters I knocked over the 

 bustard, and then killed the rhino. We rode into camp by 

 moonlight. Both these rhinos had their stomachs filled 

 with the closely chewed leaves and twig tips of short brush 



