272 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



a decidedly exciting nature, others only curious. I 

 never had any narrow escapes from rhinoceroses, 

 although I encountered numbers of these prehistoric- 

 looking animals, but I do not think that the black 

 rhinoceros of the interior of South Africa was ever of 

 so aggressive a nature as he appears to be in many 

 districts of East Africa to-day, though a wounded 

 one was always likely to become savage. 



One night in 1873, when camped on the borders 

 of the hills which skirt the southern bank of the 

 Zambesi to the east of the Victoria Falls, a white 

 rhinoceros came to inspect my camp about an hour 

 after dark. I had had my evening meal, and was 

 sitting talking by a cheery log fire to one of my native 

 attendants for I had no white companion when we 

 heard a rhinoceros snort not far away, and soon after- 

 wards, by the light of a young moon, we perceived one 

 of these animals slowly approaching our camp. I told 

 my boys to keep quite quiet, and we then sat watch- 

 ing our visitor. It advanced very slowly, holding 

 its great square nose close to the ground, and every 

 now and then stopped and snorted loudly. At last 

 it was within twenty yards of our fires, and seemed 

 determined to come closer still. Several of my 

 Kafirs had by this time crept round to the back of 

 the bushes which sheltered our camp and made for 

 the nearest tree, whilst my favourite gun-carrier put 

 my big four-bore elephant gun into my hands, and 

 begged me to shoot the inquisitive beast before it 

 charged in amongst us. 



But in those days I was hunting elephants for 

 a living, and as we were camped near a favourite 

 drinking-place of these animals, and a shot in the 

 night might have disturbed a herd approaching the 

 water, I was determined not to fire at the rhinoceros 

 if I could possibly avoid doing so. 



However, something had to be done to stop it, 

 as I was afraid that if it came any nearer the smell 



