RHINOCEROS TRACKS 
105 
it was, of course, impossible to say, for the wound had 
healed up entirely. We took off his head, feet, tail, and 
part of his hide as trophies of the great beast, and left his 
huge carcase for the vultures. 
The whole of the next day we found ourselves among a 
labyrinth of ‘ rhino ’ tracks, and followed two, both of which, 
however, got our wind, and went crashing through the 
bushes before us. The heat was very great, my thermo- 
meter registering 122° in the sun. Early on the following 
morning I found a rhinoceros lying down under a thorn- 
bush in very open ground. I had had enough of ‘ rhinos ’ at 
close quarters, so tried a long shot and missed, when he 
jumped up, and stood broadside and stared at us. I could 
not load quick enough, however, owing to the stiff action 
of my gun, and he thundered off. We followed the track 
for upwards of twenty minutes, when we suddenly came 
upon him standing broadside in thick bushes. I caught 
him a good smack in the side, but he wheeled round, and 
went off very fast, nodding his head up and down as he 
went. There was not much blood to follow, except under 
some trees, where he had evidently stood to listen. On 
reaching the to]D of a stony hill, we spied him walking 
quickly along at the bottom. We ran down the hill as 
fast as we could after him, and soon saw him again, running 
and dodging round the bushes. After this we lost him and 
his track altogether. I then walked up to the top of a small 
rise, to have a look round. Below me stretched a circular 
valley, or huge pit, four or five miles in diameter, like a 
huge extinct volcano crater, covered with very thick thorn- 
bushes, and surrounded by short but steep and rocky hills. 
The rocks were piled one upon another in huge fantastic 
shapes. There was not a breath of wind, and not a sound 
to be heard. The place looked weird and uncanny in the 
extreme. Presently I perceived below me two oryx glide 
softly from behind some bushes, and vanish again in the 
thick bush, like two gray spectres. 
Leaving the pony behind, and telling my shikari to carry 
