BRITISH EAST AFRICA 189 



Meru to Neumann's old camp, and I got a 27-inch 

 impala, an oryx, and a couple of Grant's gazelle 

 on the journey to the river. All around 

 Kampi ya Nyama Yangu giraffe, rhinoceroses, 

 oryx, water-buck, gerenuk, and impala literally 

 swarmed. I had particularly fine sport one day, 

 for in the morning I bagged an oryx, and a few 

 minutes afterwards espied a solitary old rhino 

 wending his way through the thorn bushes. He 

 seemed quite unaware of my presence, so I 

 walked quickly and noiselessly towards him, 

 but well away to his right in order to get broad- 

 side on and take the neck shot. Rhino have 

 huge spinal columns, and a well-placed bullet 

 that smashes this ends their careers without further 

 trouble. When I had reached the point I desired 

 I sat down, steadied the rifle on my knee, and 

 fired. The bullet hit at the junction of the neck 

 and shoulder, and I saw friend rhino change his 

 direction and walk steadily and deliberately 

 towards me. There is no accounting for the 

 ways of wild beasts. This rhino did not charge 

 in a blind, mad fit of fury as rhino generally do : 

 he just walked forward with a calmness as dis- 

 concerting as it was curious. I had implicit 

 trust in my rifle, so I just sat my ground, ejected 

 the cartridge, and tried to ram another in the 

 breech. But try as I might the shell would not 

 go home. I had put a new magazine in the rifle 

 that morning, foolishly imagining that it was 

 all right, when as a matter of fact it was all wrong. 

 The rhino kept slowly advancing. Frantically 

 I renewed my efforts to get another cartridge 

 in the breech, but without avail. By this time 

 the rhino was so close that retreat seemed out 

 of the question, and I began to wonder what 

 rhinoceros horns would feel like in contact with 



