130 
THE NEW AFRICA 
spatched with the significant command ‘ to put things in order, 
if there is anything wrong. 
Through this far-reaching and effective policy the king 
holds control over his subjects, who in one place or another 
are continually, under some plea of prior claim or legitimate 
right to the throne, and promises of aggrandisement to their 
supporters, attempting insurrection. 
The introduction into these countries of firearms, which the 
king only distributes amongst his most loyal and tried followers, 
has done much to check the promiscuous rising of petty chiefs. 
While walking through some bush on the river banks, we 
stumbled right on to a black rhinoceros, who jumped up from 
his lair a few yards off, and stood looking at us sideways. I 
promptly fired for his head, but in the hurry shot slightly high, 
so that the bullet perforated his skin and went through just over 
the top of his skull. The brute dashed off, with a shriek like a 
steam engine, through the thicket into an open glade lined by bush 
beyond, and I went after him as hard as I could go. On nearing 
the bush, the rising of some ‘ rhinoceros ’ (also known as ‘ tick ’) 
birds, with their shrill, peculiar shriek, warned me that the beast 
was near; and none too soon, for out he came with a tremendous 
snort. None of the boys had followed me, so I was alone. It is 
a most peculiar sensation to have a rhinoceros charge one in the 
open. The elastic bounds of the great black mass, with the horn 
at the executive end swaying from side to side as the head 
swings in unison with the movements of the rest of the animal, 
have anything but a reassuring effect. Lucky for me that I was 
in perfect training, as everything depended on my activity at the 
moment when the beast was so near that the next stride would 
have toppled me over. Holding my rifle in the right hand at 
full cock, I made a desperate side jump to the left, intentionally 
falling on my left hand, stretched out to support the fall; and as 
the huge lumbering mass passed on, I stuck out the rifle, firing 
with one hand full into his broadside, lodging the bullet well 
behind the shoulder. He went on, without turning, straight 
into the thicket, where I followed, loading as I ran. Hardly 
