TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 233 



was much blunted at the tip, the result of some accident 

 or wear and tear of some kind, so that it lost half an 

 inch or so in length. But eleven inches looks for- 

 midable enough, on such a fearsome head. The eyes 

 are ridiculously small in a rhino. I think to such 

 altogether inadequate optics much of the bad sight 

 put down to the rhino must be ascribed. One would 

 hardly think every single animal of this variety starts 

 its career with bad sight, but that is what every 

 hunter tells you. Go nap every time on the non-seeing 

 powers of your enemy if he happens to be a rhinoceros 

 if you like, but see there is a tree to get behind before 

 you begin. This is advice from myself. 



Next day was a poor one as far as sport was con- 

 cerned. We were very stiff with so much crawling, 

 though at the time we had not noticed it. We sent off 

 a few men to retrieve the rest of the hide from the 

 remains of the rhino, and when the camp was quiet 

 we investigated the trophies, and overhauled them 

 carefully. Some of them cried aloud in their agony 

 for attention. The skin of the last killed lion was 

 beginning to lose some hair in parts. And this was 

 because, when we undid it and looked behind, great 

 lumps of flesh still adhered, making it impossible 

 for the preservatives to do any curing. It took us a 

 long time to set this right, and we rubbed alum in as 

 hard as we could on the inside. Of course, if the 

 skinning is not carefully done, the chances are the 

 trophy will have to be thrown away. I don't know 

 how we should have taken a catastrophe of such 

 magnitude. 



