92 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. Ill 



time since the expedition started, we came upon amor- 

 phous, volcanic rocks ; and as the sun was setting we 

 got a magnificent view of the range of mountains we 

 had seen some days before. These mountains were 

 now but fifteen miles to the westward, and upon their 

 slopes we could clearly distinguish the smoke of many 

 fires. . What people inhabited them we had no infor- 

 mation upon which to base a guess. It was at this 

 time evident to our minds that, unless Lake Lorian 

 lay between us and these mountains, the Mackenzie 

 River could not derive its source from it. The 

 country was much more open, and upon the march 

 our eyes were continually greeted with herds of game, 

 — walleri, grantii, zebra, water-buck, and rhinoceros. 



On this day's march I killed a fine rhinoceros. He 

 was standing in the open, apparently asleep, and per- 

 mitted me to approach him within loo yards. One 

 shot in the region of the heart caused him to spin 

 around rapidly, as on a pivot, and then drop dead in 

 his tracks. My men were delighted with this their 

 first rhinoceros of the journey. The Soudanese im- 

 mediately indulged in a violent discussion respecting 

 the relative merits of rhinoceros and hippopotamus 

 meats. Several of their number had determined to 

 secure the heart, which they considered a tid-bit. This 

 oneness of desire soon led to a difference of opinion, 

 and in a few moments they were hard at it, fighting 

 like hungry hyenas. They were soon quieted, how- 

 ever, and the innocent cause of all this trouble was 

 removed by my presentation of the heart to Hamidi, 

 the headman of the Zanzibari. 



While the men were engaged in cutting up the rhi- 



