124 BINAE LONNBBRG, MAMMALS COLLECTED BY THE SWEDISH ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITION ETC. 



mountain in the thornbush country. After the report of the shot we heard a couple 

 of Rhinoceroses snorting in the bushes close behind us, but we did not see them. 

 As we were on march I wanted the Baboon skinned at once so that the boys should 

 not need to carry the heavy body. My gunbearers drove then the Rhinoceroses 

 away by throwing some stones at them so that they should not disturb the skinners. 

 When we were camping at the water-holes at Njoro I went out as usual in 

 the morning the 213* of Febr. to collect zoological material and had shot some small 

 birds when a porter came running to me and said something about a »faru» (Rhino) 

 which was about to kill the »nyumbis» (mules) and threatened the camp. I returned 

 speedily and saw a Rhinoceros most peacefully browsing close to our mules on the 

 other side of the dry river-bed at which we had our camp. The boys were of course 

 very excited and wanted me to shoot. As the Rhinoceros had only small horns I 

 did not want to shoot it, hoping to get a better specimen for the collection at ano- 

 ther opportunity. I told the boys that, but said that if they wanted me to stay at 

 the camp and protect them I would wait there till the Rhinoceros had walked away. 

 When the boys found that they could not entice me to shoot, the »farus' suddenly 

 lost all its dangerous qualities, and two negroes at once ran across the dry river-bed 

 and drove away the Rhinoceros by shouting and throwing sticks at him, and he 

 trotted of through the bushes with full speed. 



A comparatively long experience of a similar kind proved to me that at least 

 the greatest number of these animals, if not all, were rather good-natured, but by 

 and by I learned to know that not all had the same kind disposition. One day when 

 we were marching from a water-place Tbera in the thornbush to Guaso Nyiri I went 

 about half an hour in front of the safari with my gunbearers and an askari as guide. 

 We followed a game path, and the wind blew across from left to right. Suddenly 

 we perceived a Rhinoceros lying under an acacia to the right of our path. We were 

 thus not able to pass without his noticing us. We stopped then and my gun- 

 bearer, Kongoni, advanced cautiously to the left of the path. As soon as the Rhino 

 got wind of Kongoni he jumped to his feet and with a »locomotive snort* (as 

 Vaughan Kibby says) he went for the boy with full speed. When the askari, who 

 also had advanced a little an the left side of the path, saw this, he shot (and hit 

 the ground several metres from the Rhino). The Rhino changed then direction about 

 45 degrees towards the askari. I took then a step to be clear of a bush and be 

 ready to shoot. The Rhino saw this movement, changed again his direction about 

 45 degrees and came towards me, but a buUet in his neck at rather close quarters 

 made him swerve off. This was plainly a very deliberate charge, and the interesting 

 thing is that the Rhino changed direction twice when he saw a new adversary. 



A few days later, an afternoon when I was returning to our camp at Guaso 

 Nyiri below Chanler Falls we found a Rhino lying close to the game path which 

 we were following. The thornbush was rather thick there, and it would have been 

 troublesome to make a detour around him. I tried therefore to drive him off 

 by shouting at him. He started to his feet with a snort and as we were near him 



