112 IN AFRICA 



looks terrifying, but in reality is probably badly 

 terrified himself. He would give a good deal to 

 know which way to run, and finally becomes so ex- 

 cited and nervous that he starts frantically in some 

 direction, hoping for the best. If this rush happens 

 to be in your direction you call it a charge from an 

 infuriated rhino; if not, you say that he looked 

 nasty and was about to charge, but finally ran away 

 in another direction. In most rhino charges it is 



A e 4/ fifteen 



Trying to Provoke a Charge 



my opinion that the rhino is too rattled to know 

 what he is doing, and, instead of charging mali- 

 ciously, he is merely trying to get away as fast as 

 possible. And in such cases the hunter blazes away 

 at him, wounds him, and the rhino blindly charges 

 the flash. 



It was our wish to get moving pictures of a rhino 

 charge. Mr. Akeley had a machine and our plan 

 of action was simple. We would first locate the 

 rhino, usually somnolent under a thorn tree or 

 browsing soberly out in the open. We would then 



