CHAP. XVI 
EN ROUTE FOR EL BO GO I 
37 i 
swinging the long logs of ivory round behind their backs on to 
the other shoulder. 
Fortunately, at this time there was a morning moon (that 
is, it was on the wane), so that, knowing our way now, we 
could start as early as we liked ; and with a “ heavy safari ” 
nothing is so important as to get as much of the march as 
possible in the cool of the morning. When the sun gets high 
overhead, every quarter of an hour tires the men more than 
an extra hour before sunrise. So I used to get the ivory 
party off by 4.30 or even 4 A.M., as long hs the moon lasted. 
This meant being up by 3, or soon after, myself, as the 
donkeys had to be loaded (a longish process), and I did not 
like to leave them far behind. 
On the second morning I was compelled (most regretfully) 
to shoot a rhino ; I say regretfully, because it was early in 
the morning, and we could not afford to waste time over it, 
nor was it desirable to let the men pile meat on top of their 
heavy loads with the march before them. So I would gladly 
have left them alone (there were two), had they not come 
blundering towards the caravan. No one would have been 
hurt, in all probability, had I allowed them to come on ; but 
the loads would all have been chucked down and very likely 
something broken. Besides, it damages ivory to throw it 
down on stones or even hard ground, and I have had tusks 
splintered and chipped so through a “ faro ” scare. I therefore 
felt constrained to administer a .303 bullet to the leading one, 
which turned them both and brought the one which had 
received it to the ground in a few strides, and, after a squeal 
or two, to its last breath. It was a young cow, adult, but 
very small, and after examining and measuring it I had to 
leave it—with much sorrow for having been driven reluctantly 
to cause its useless death—to the vultures and hyenas. 
My custom was not to attempt to shoot anything during 
the march ; to do so would delay us, and we had quite 
enough to carry already. But I did my best to procure meat 
