THE RHINOCEROS 255 
themselves the reputation for charging more often than other 
beasts, not only from the natives, but from many European 
sportsmen. To begin with, a rhinoceros rarely drops on 
the spot to the shoulder-shot, even when hit with a 4-bore 
bullet, but will dash forward whichever way his head may be 
pointing in at the time of being fired at, which, as I have said 
before, may be in the direction of the sportsman. If they 
should spin round and round, which they very often do, par- 
ticularly when shot through the lungs, they will rush off in the 
direction their heads are in when they cease their gyrations. 
Should they, however, start off down wind in their first rush, 
they will very quickly turn up into the wind, and either in so 
doing, or in rushing straight forward, they are quite as likely 
as not to come in the sportsman’s direction, who, as he will 
probably be within 80 to go yards of the beast before firing, 
might be led to mistake this headlong rush for a charge. 
I have many times experienced this myself, and have had a 
rhinoceros come tearing along, snorting like a steam-engine, to 
within to or 15 yards of me ; but with three exceptions, when I 
was unable for want of covert to keep out of sight, they always 
turned off to the right or left of me, and did not charge. 
Although I do not consider rhinoceroses very dangerous 
beasts, I have always had a certain amount of respect for them, 
and have been careful to use heavy rifles ; still I have had 
more really exciting encounters with these beasts than with any 
other of the larger game, and have three times been charged 
in a determined manner. I account for two of these charges 
by the fact that I was very close up before firing, failed to knock 
the beasts down, and was unable to keep out of sight. The third 
charge, which is the only one worth recording here, occurred 
in Turkwel on January 25, 1890. I had shot three antelopes 
_ on the march, some distance from the footpath, and as there 
were a great number of vultures about I left a gun-bearer with 
_ €ach beast tokeep them off. The last one—a G. Grantii—had 
| given me a long run, so I left my Winchester carbine with the 
= gun-bearer in charge, as the natives were a treacherous lot and 
