African Game Trails 
397 
way, affords a curious illustration of how 
blind many men who live much of their 
lives outdoors may be to facts which stare 
them in their face. For years most South 
African hunters, and most naturalists, be¬ 
lieved in the existence 
of two species of pre¬ 
hensile-lipped, or so-called 
“black,” rhinoceros: one 
with the front horn much 
the longer, one with the 
rear horn at least equal to 
the front. It was Selous, 
a singularly clear-sighted 
and keen observer, who 
first proved conclusively 
that the difference was 
purely imaginary. Now, 
the curious thing is that 
these experienced hunters 
usually attributed entirely 
different temperaments to 
these two imaginary spe¬ 
cies. The first kind, that 
with the long front horn, 
they described as a mira¬ 
cle of dangerous ferocity, 
and the second as compar¬ 
atively mild and inoffen¬ 
sive; and these veterans 
(Drummond is an in¬ 
stance) persuaded them¬ 
selves that this was true, 
although they were writ¬ 
ing in each case of iden¬ 
tically the same animal! 
After leaving the dead 
rhinos we rode for several 
miles, over a plain dotted 
with the game, and took 
our lunch at the foot of a 
big range of hills, by a 
rapid little brook, running 
under a fringe of shady 
thorns. Then we rode 
back to camp. Lines of 
zebra filed past on the hor¬ 
izon. Ostriches fled while 
we were yet f ar off. Topi, 
hartebeest, wildebeest, and gazelle gazed at 
us as we rode by, the sunlight throwing 
their shapes and colors into bold relief 
against the parched brown grass. I had 
an hour to myself after reaching camp, and 
spent it with Lowell’s “Essays.” I doubt 
whether any man takes keener enjoyment 
in the wilderness than he who also keenly 
enjoys many other sides of life; just as no 
man can relish books more than some at 
least of those who also love horse and 
rifle and the winds that blow across lonely 
plains and through the gorges of the moun¬ 
tains. 
Next morning a lion roared at dawn so 
near camp that we sallied forth after him. 
We did not find him, but we enjoyed our 
three hours’ ride through the fresh air be¬ 
fore breakfast, with the game as usual on 
