THE RHINOCEROS 263 



wards to the bottom of the ant-heap, where I nearly turned a 

 complete somersault, but quickly recovering myself I had the 

 satisfaction of seeing that the rhino was still more completely 

 knocked over than myself. 



Among many and varied experiences with East Africao 

 big game, two rhinoceros fights, of which I was a witness, 

 were perhaps not the least interesting. The first I saw on a 

 short trip from Taveta, with my friend Sir Robert Harvey, to 

 the Rombo and Useri plains early in January 1887. On New 

 Year's Day we were changing camps from Kampi ya Simba to 

 Hombo, both on the Lumi river, and we each took different 

 beats, Harvey keeping to the plains on the right bank, whilst I 

 took the left bank. Shortly after separating, I managed by 

 great good luck, rather than by good management, to get 

 within about 70 yards of three ostriches, all of which I succeeded 

 in bagging. After skinning them and taking their thighs, the 

 only meat there is on an ostrich, I went on keeping close to 

 the river, and came across a rhino standing in the open ; but 

 the ground was so devoid of covert that I could not get nearer 

 than 100 yards, and a shot with the 4-bore struck her too low, 

 as I foolishly forgot to raise the back sight, and only wounded 

 her high up in the forelegs, which, however, soon caused her 

 to settle down into a walk. As she headed for a patch of grass 

 that had not been burnt, with several bushes and ant-heaps 

 dotted about, I kept within 150 yards of her, intending to 

 get nearer when she entered this covert. After she had 

 entered it, I took advantage of a bush and drew up to 

 within 100 yards of her, when another rhino jumped out of 

 the grass where it had been lying to leeward of her, and made 

 straight for her. She, however, heard him (for it was a bull), 

 and whipped round to face him ; and so they stood about three 

 yards apart, giving vent to a succession of squeals and low 

 guttural roars, the latter not unlike the roars of a lion. For 

 quite twenty minutes I watched them, and a most interesting 

 sight it was. At first they did not close, but alternately rushed 

 at each other ; as each in turn charged, the other backed 



