14 THE GAME OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 



climbable trees, directly you fire, if he is not killed, he will as likely as not come 

 straight for the sound of the rifle. 



In a rhino country one must be constantly on the alert. A fold of ground, bush, 

 or anthill may conceal one of these formidable beasts. 



If you pass upwind of him he may come straight for your wind. On the open 

 plain he may even come " bald-headed " for you from a distance of five hundred 

 yards downwind, as one has seen, but such cases are the exception. On such 

 occasions, if you are alone, you can make a run across the wind with as much 

 celerity as the country will permit. 



If you can once make him lose your wind he is unlikely to pick it up again or 

 cast for it, and he cannot pick you up by sight till he is within perhaps twenty-five 

 or thirty yards of you. 



If, on the other hand, you have a long tail of porters, loads are thrown down, your 

 only bottle of whisky is broken, and other very boring breakages are apt to take 

 place, while you have to see it out to restore confidence. 



This latter is probably the most boring part of all, as you would much rather be 

 up a tree beside the man who is carrying your ammunition, especially if you have 

 already shot all you are entitled to. It is then that you will realise what a very 

 difficult shot is a rhino coming straight towards you, his massive head protecting 

 his heart, and his horns covering his brain. On such occasions if you can break a 

 leg it will be of more use than placing a shot in the side of his body or head, as it 

 will sufficiently impede his progress to permit of your skipping out of the way and 

 finishing him at leisure from a flank. 



However, where rhino are so very dangerous is in thick bush, grass, or thorn. 

 Here you cannot possibly run or dodge, as the vegetation is so dense, and you 

 cannot see him till he is on top of you. You may walk within a few yards of a family 

 of them, lying down, without being aware of their presence. It is in such places as 

 these that the many rhino accidents which take place chiefly happen. 



This leads me to another point on which many people have totally different 

 views, namely, as to rhino-charging and their motives. 



Some say that a rhino charges at every possible opportunity, or that directly 

 he notices you he comes for you. If he does not hit you off, that is only his 

 bad aiming. Others try completely to whitewash his character, and say that he 

 practically never charges in the real sense of the word. It is only his fun or a 

 mistake, or that he took the wrong turning, but he is really trying to run away. 

 That he made a mistake would seem a poor consolation if one was the victim of 

 that mistake. 



