THE RHINOCEROS 261 



a vital shot at the shoulder. If the country is favourable and 

 the beast can be approached within 35 yards or less, a shot in 

 the neck, a trifle below and a few inches behind the base of 

 the ear, would be instantly fatal. Although the object of this 

 shot is to break the vertebrae of the neck, it is better to aim 

 rather low than too high, as there is always a chance of the 

 bullet severing the main arteries of the neck or jugular vein 

 should the vertebrae be missed, whereas a shot above the 

 vertebras might go clean through the neck and the beast be 

 none the worse. 



Every sportsman will probably have his own ideas as to 

 shooting positions, and as most shooting (except elephant 

 shooting) in East Africa is done in fairly open country, he can 

 please himself, and will in most cases be able to adopt the 

 position most convenient, whether it be standing, kneeling, 

 sitting, or lying. Personally I prefer to sit down, and always 

 fire even a 4- or 8-bore in this position, provided the grass is 

 not too high to obscure my view of the beast. The recoil of 

 such rifles a push, rather than a kick is too much for any 

 man, except a Hercules, in this position, and always pushes 

 me back and causes my legs to go up in the air, if it does not 

 send me actually on to my back. When 80 yards from a beast 

 I do not mind it, but when within 40 yards or less it is better 

 not to have one's equilibrium upset in this manner, and I there- 

 fore make my gun-bearer sit behind me with his hands within an 

 inch or so of my back to hold me up. This is a capital plan, but 

 on no account must the gun-bearer touch the sportsman's back, 

 as he might give a slight push just as the trigger is being 

 pressed. I remember once coming rather to grief, and being 

 in a ludicrous though not critical position, owing to my gun- 

 bearer being unable to get behind me. I was out shooting 

 with Dr. Mackinnon at Machako's on March 30, 1889, and 

 <is he had not then killed a rhino and was anxious to do so, we 

 kept together and came across two of them in a capital position. 

 Followed by our gun-bearers we got up to a bush within 60 

 yards of them, when the Doctor gave the larger one, a cow, a 



