CHAPTER VII 
ON THE TANA RIVER, THE HOME OF THE RHINO. THE 
TIMID ARE FRIGHTENED, THE DANGEROUS KILLED, 
AND OTHERS PHOTOGRAPHED. MOVING PIC¬ 
TURES OF A RHINO CHARGE 
Down on the Tana River the rhinos are more com¬ 
mon than in any other known section of Africa. 
In two weeks we saw over one hundred—perhaps 
two hundred—of them—so many, in fact, that one 
of the chief diversions of the day was to count 
rhinos. One day we counted twenty-six, another 
day nineteen, and by the time we left the district 
rhinos had become such fixtures in the landscape as 
to cause only casual comment. Perhaps there were 
some repeaters, ones that were counted twice, hut 
even allowing for that there were still some left. 
We saw big ones and little ones, old ones and young 
ones, and middle-aged ones; ones with long ears, 
short horns, double horns, and single horns; black 
ones and red ones—in fact, all the kinds of rhinos 
that are resident in British East Africa. One had 
an ear gone and another had a crook in his tail. If 
we had stayed another week we might have got out 
a Tana River Rhino Directory, with addresses and 
tree numbers. We studied them fore and aft, from 
in front of trees and from behind them, from close 
105 
