THE HOME OF THE RHINO 113 



get to the leeward of him and slowly advance the 

 machine; Mr. Akeley in the middle and Stephen- 

 son and I on each side with our double-barreled cor- 

 dite rifles. In case the charge became too serious to 

 escape we hoped to be able to turn him or kill the 

 rhino with our four bullets. If we were unsuccess- 

 ful in doing so well, we had to manage the situa- 

 tion by jumping. 



Our first experience was most thrilling, chiefly be- 

 cause we expected a charge. We thought all rhinos 

 charged, as per the magazine articles, and so pre- 

 pared for busy doings. A rhino cow and half- 

 grown calf were discovered on a distant hillside. 

 We stopped in a ravine to adjust the picture ma- 

 chine and then crept cautiously up the hill until we 

 were within about seventy yards of the unsuspect- 

 ing pair. Then the rhino birds began to flutter and 

 chatter and the two beasts began to sniff nervously. 

 Finally they turned toward us, with tails erect and 

 noses sniffing savagely. Now for the charge, we 

 thought, for it was considered an absolute certainty 

 that a rhino cow accompanied by its calf would al- 

 ways attack. We moved forward a few yards, 

 clapped our hands to show where we were, and their 

 attitude at once became more threatening. They 

 rushed backward and forward a couple of times 

 and faced us again. 



By this time we knew that they saw us and our 

 fingers were within the trigger guards. It was 

 agreed that, if they charged, they should be allowed 

 to come within forty feet before we fired, thus 



