The Black Rhinoceros j. r 



travel to water ; the ground was open, and I had made a little shelter of 

 branches about 30 yards from the track. The rhinos came just after sundown. 

 The bull, however, loitered behind on the forest edge, while the cow and calf- 

 advanced, and, when opposite me, the cow deliberately left the track and 

 walked straight towards me. She stood sniffing loudly about 12 yards 

 distant, but I did not want to shoot her, not alone because of her calf, 

 but for fear of scaring the bull, which was in sight. But as she again 

 advanced, I threw a lump of dead wood at her, hitting her on the nose, 

 when she became furious, snorting loudly, charging again and again at the 

 piece of wood, tossing it with her horn and trampling on it. Mean- 

 while the bull came up, and, stopping just where the cow had turned out, 

 watched the latter, which, with her calf, was now making off towards the 

 water. I fired for his heart, and he at once started waltzing around and 

 squealing loudly. I might have given him another shot, but believed he 

 was done for, when suddenly he made a furious dash in my direction. I 

 had barely time to scramble out of the way when he passed over the very 

 spot I had been sitting on, kicking my water-bottle violently as he passed. 

 He stood again 100 yards beyond, swaying from side to side, then 

 dropped dead. Of course this was a blind charge, made without any 

 intention of injuring me, but I have been most viciously charged by them. 

 In 1894 a rhino cow charged, turned after me when I dodged, and deliber- 

 ately chased me for over 60 yards, and I only escaped by " going to earth " 

 in a deep "sand crack." Again, in 1896, I twice bowled over a big bull 

 within a few paces, but he recovered himself, and as my gun-bearer had 

 gone off with my spare rifle I had to run for it, closely pursued for a long- 

 distance by the bull, which eventually came to grief against a big boulder. 

 I believe that if a rhino, after being wounded, makes you out (their eye- 

 sight is very bad) at close quarters, he may be expected to charge, and 

 often does so. It is seldom any use following a wounded rhino, for they 

 keep going on and on for miles until they drop. Some difference of 



