96 After Big Game in Central Africa 



believe that the purpose for which it has returned 

 is to occupy its attention, and that it will give us 

 a little example of its habits. The wind is now in our 

 favour. I must add that the ground is stony, and 

 slightly slopes towards the side whence the animal is 

 coming. I load the 303 with two solid bullets, lest 

 I shall have to shoot at the head ; Express No. 1 with 

 solid bullets will do for the body. When this is done 

 we wait hidden behind a bush. 



The rhinoceros has not scented us : otherwise, in 

 all probability, it would have charged. The snorting 

 we heard is not repeated. It was very fortunate it 

 snorted at all, because it warned us, and although the 

 sight of dung already announced its return, it was a 

 good thing to know the exact moment. The animal 

 is a long time in appearing: it eats quietly, and draws 

 near little by little. At one moment its back appears 

 ten yards away. . . . One cannot imagine the agree- 

 able emotion which a hunter feels in thus seeing a 

 dangerous animal approach without suspicion. 



The head is invisible; however, at a certain moment, 

 it is raised with a distrustful air, and remains motion- 

 less. The animal then snorts, continues on its way, 

 and again snorts, showing that it has smelt that we 

 have been there, but has not yet got wind of us. If 

 only it will not take to flight, if only it w T ill not move 

 about too much, and thus enable me to shoot with 

 certainty ! The idea occurs to me to get in front of 

 it in order to hasten the end ; but my men restrain me, 

 as the rhinoceros continues on its way and draws near. 

 Never have I seen the terrible animal so well as on 



