XVI 
RHINOCEROS 
109 
him with them when they discovered the Lake 
N’game. He had a favourite double-barrelled gun 
made by Purdey. This was a smooth-bore No. 10, 
specially constructed for ball. Although a smooth¬ 
bore, it was sighted like a rifle, with back-sights ; 
the gun weighed 10 lbs. The owner most kindly 
lent me this useful weapon when I first went to 
Africa in 1861, therefore I can attest its value, and 
the hard work that it had accomplished. A portion 
of the walnut stock had been completely worn away 
to the depth of an inch by the tearing friction of the 
wait-a-bit thorns, when carrying the gun across the 
saddle in chase at full speed through the hooked- 
thorn bushes. The stock had the appearance of 
having been gnawed by rats. 
At the time of Oswell’s visit, the country was 
alive with wild animals, all of which have long since 
disappeared before the advance of colonial enter¬ 
prise and the sporting energy of settlers. There 
was a particular locality that was so infested with 
rhinoceroses that Oswell had grown tired of killing 
them, and he passed them unnoticed, unless he met 
some specimen with an exceptional horn. He was 
riding a favourite horse, which had been his constant 
companion in countless shooting incidents, and he 
happened to remark a large white rhinoceros 
standing in open ground alone. This animal 
possessed a horn of unusual length, which made the 
owner a worthy object of attention. 
Oswell immediately rode towards it. The animal 
took no notice of his approach until he arrived 
