CAPTURING THE RHINOCEROS 



thorn-thicket. Our clothes were torn into shreds, and 

 our hands and feet and faces and bodies were bleeding 

 with many scratches. Every moment we might come 

 up with the wounded and infuriated animal. My 

 blacks clinibed on ant-hills which afforded a good look- 

 out. At length one of my men beckoned me violently. 

 I climbed the ant-hill and saw another rhinoceros, a 

 bull; but I did not care for him just then, and was 

 glad to see him running away from us. Again we fol- 

 lowed the tracks of the fleeing cow and the young one. 

 This was no easy matter, since their tracks were crossed 

 by those of animals which had passed there during the 

 night. The thick growth of bushes and plants and 

 grasses only impeded our progress, but would not pro- 

 tect us against the animal which would break down 

 bushes and young trees like bits of straw. 



Noon came on ; we were still fighting our way through 

 the thicket, exhausted and thirsty. Hour after hour 

 passed. We were on the point of giving up all hope 

 of ever reaching the animals, when we came to a pool 

 formed by rain-water in which the rhinoceroses had 

 wallowed and refreshed themselves. It was anything 

 but tempting, being muddy and malodorous, but our 

 thirst conquered our fastidiousness. We drank and 

 were thus enabled to continue our pursuit till nightfall, 

 with the prospect before us of being obliged to camp on 

 the steppe all night, frequented as it was by numerous 

 wild beasts. 



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