120 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



a herd of oryx beisa, which would in the most tanta- 

 Hzing manner remain standing until I could get within 

 500 yards from them, and then wheel in their tracks like 

 a regiment of cavalry, and charge briskly on. However, 

 they proved good guides, for they led me to a mass of 

 thick bush, where they disappeared ; but shortly after 

 entering the bush, from a small rise, I saw at a distance 

 of 300 yards, two rhinoceroses. The soil at this point 

 was of a reddish colour, and from rolling in this the 

 rhinoceroses had assumed its tint. As I descended 

 from the rise, I lost sight of them, but proceeded cau- 

 ~" tiously in the direction in which I had seen them. At 

 length I caught a glimpse of a reddish body in the bush, 

 not more than forty yards in front of me. I took careful 

 aim and fired at what I supposed to be a shoulder (I saw 

 but a portion of the beast's body), and the animal fell. 

 The smoke of my shot had scarcely cleared away, before 

 crashing through the bush came another, and I had but 

 time to fire a snap-shot, owing to the close quarters. 

 The animal changed its gait and direction at once, 

 coming down from a gallop into a trot ; and I followed 

 after it. In my eagerness I almost stumbled over the 

 rhinoceros I had first shot. He was far from dead, 

 having been hit not in the shoulder, but in the quarter. 

 Upon seeing me, he staggered to his feet, and with a 

 savage snort rushed at me. A lucky shot brought him 

 to the ground, dead. This was a most fortunate circum- 

 stance, for my gun-bearer had allowed me to leave camp 

 with but three cartridges in my magazine, all of which by 

 this time I had fired ; so that, had I failed to bring the 

 animal down, I should have been placed in a most 

 unpleasant predicament. 



