SOUTHERN AFRICA. 133 



greatly delig'hted at this performance^ it was not until an 

 unwieldy white rhinoceros* had bit the dust^ that they 

 were perfectly satisfied. Smacking their thick lips, patting- 

 theii- stomachs, and repeatedly exclaiming '^ Chikore, Chi- 

 kore" they pointed out this huge beast standing stupidly 

 under the shade of a spreading acacia. I crept within 

 thirty yards before firing, but it was not until he had 

 received six two-ounce bullets behind the shoulder that he 

 yielded up the ghost — charging repeatedly, with his snout 

 almost touching the ground, in so clumsy a manner, that it 

 was only necessary to step on one side to be perfectly safe. 



This grotesque-looking animal, which in many points 

 bears a ridiculous resemblance to, or rather is a gross 

 caricature upon, the " half reasoning elephant," is upwards 

 of six feet high at the shoulder, its shapeless head exceeding 

 four feet in length. It is the larger, but less ferocious, 

 of the two species of African rhinoceros, neither of which 

 is clad in a panoply of plate armour like their Asiatic 

 brethren ; they have in lieu, tough hides an inch and a 

 half hi thickness, of which the whips known at the Cape 

 under the denomination of Sjamboks, are usually manufac- 

 tured. Both have double horns : those of the black species 

 are short, and sometimes nearly of equal length — whilst 

 the anterior horn of the white rhinoceros is upwards of 

 three feet in length, the second being a mere excrescence. 

 These animals may be readily approached within a few 

 yards, against the wind, and being heavy and inert, their 

 attacks are easily avoided. 



Eejoining the waggons to breakfast, we found many 

 savao-es assembled from neio-hbom-ino- kraals, clamorous for 

 snufl'. One old lady inhaled it in large quantities, and 



* Ithinoceros Simus. Delineated in tlie Portraits of Game and Wild Ani- 

 mals of Southern Africa. 



