130 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT chap. 



for me. The soft soil had deadened the sound of his 

 approach, and as I was at the time thoroughly engrossed 

 in the stalk, I had not heard him. The whistle from 

 my men, warning me of my danger, gave me just a mo- 

 ment in which to leap to one side and avoid the rush 

 of the animal. 



As a rule the rhinoceros snorts when it charges; but 

 this one had not made a sound. Needless to say, I 

 failed to get a shot at either the zebras or giraffes. 

 However, while the men were pitching camp, they were 

 charged by another rhinoceros, which paid the death 



Dead Rhinoceros 



penalty for its temerity. We did not cut this animal 

 up at once, and during the night it was visited by a 

 hyena. One may form a conception of the thickness 

 and toughness of the hide of a rhinoceros from the 

 fact that, although the jaws of the hyena are very 

 powerful, the beast had to satisfy itself with the ends 

 of the ears and the tip of the tail, being unable to 

 make any impression upon the other parts of the 

 body. 



Near this portion of the river we saw several large 

 zeribas. In these were unmistakable signs that they 

 once held camels, sheep, donkeys, and goats. Judging 



