-♦b Rhinoceros-hunting 



into an inextricable tangle. Such moments are full of 

 excitement. It is quite on the cards that a second 

 rhinoceros — perhaps a third — will now turn up. Who 

 knows ? Moreover, I have absolutely no inducement to 

 bag the specimen now^ before my eyes — its horns are 

 not of much account. I try cautiously to retreat, but my 

 feet are entangled and I slip. Instantly I jump up again — 

 the rhinoceros has heard the noise of my fall and is making 

 a rush for me, spitting and snorting. It won't be easy 

 to hit him effectively, but I fire. As my rifle rings out 

 I hear suddenly the singing notes like a bird in the air 

 above, clear and resonant, and I seem to note the impact 

 of the bullet. Next instant I see the rhinoceros dis- 

 appearing over the undulating plain. 



I conclude that the bullet must have struck one of his 

 horns and been turned aside, and that it startled the beast 

 and caused him to abandon his attack. 



* * * * * . 



But there are yet other ways in which you may be 

 surprised by a rhinoceros. I had pitched my camp by the 

 Pangani, in a region which at the time of Count Telekis' 

 expedition, some years before, was a swamp. Its swampy 

 condition lasts only during the rainy season, but I found 

 my camping-place to be very unsatisfactory and unhealthy. 

 I set out therefore with a few of my men to find a better 

 position somewhere on dryer land, if possible shaded 

 by trees, and at a spot where the river was passable — 

 a good deal to ask for in the African bush. For hours 

 we pursued our search through '' boga " and ''pori," 

 but the marshy ground did not even enable us to get 



465 



