54 
satisfied with the mercurial dose he had received, was ultimately badgered to death as o stnteer of course. Daily almost, two 
or three were thus siitibilated within view of the camp; and not only during our hunting excursions was the path constantly 
disputed by some rebellious raseal, who refused to move on one side until the smarting of his wounds compelled him,— but 
when on the point of drawing the trigger at some object that I coveted, a scoundrel has frequently leapt with a. grunt out of 
a bush not many yards removed from my elbow. I have elsewhere related, that on the occasion of my first humbling a 
Giraffe, my advance towards the herd was opposed by a spiteful old vixen, that twinkled her wicked eyes, and with her anti- 
quated little ealf, seemed so bent upon interference, that I had no alternative but to direct Piet -van Roy to salute her with a 
broadside ; a white turban that during the chase was torn by a projecting bough from around my hunting cap, being afterwards 
charged and trampled under foot by no fewer than three ungainly beasts in concert; whom I could long perceive snorting and 
wheezing in an abortive attempt to overtake me. ' ; f 
During the time that we were encamped in the valley of the Limpopo, a huge male came sauntering down one evening 
after we had all returned tired from hunting, and proceeded coolly to take up his position under a spreading tree, not three 
hundred yards from our waggons. A general move was made towards the guns, which had been slung in their accustomed 
places within the awning; and Andries, contriving to obtain his roe the first, pompously announced his intention of giving 
the party a lesson gratis in the art of Rhinoceros shooting. “Jaa,” said he confidently, “daar in die veld ik zaal de schelm 
dood maaken.”*  Impelled by this bold determination, he crept with suitable caution against the wind, taking especial eare 
ever to keep the trunk of a tree interposed betwixt himself and the object i whose life he thirsted; and deliberately 
seating himself at last upon the ground within thirty paces of the unconscious target, he levelled a full minute over a branch, 
and drew the trigger. The clattering together of the heavy flint and steel was the only response, and the Rhinoceros, quite 
in the dark as to the cause of a sound so unusual, pricked its sharp ears, elevated its snout, and, having sniffed about a 
little, trotted Suey on to the next tree. The foiled preceptor nimbly advanced to the position that it had vacated, and 
another minute’s aim produced a flash in the pan. Again the beast trotted on, and wheeling about, fronted the adversary, 
aud commenced winking its little eyes in a most ominous manner. Still resolved to learn how a Rhinoceros ought to be 
Slain, not a man interfered, and Andries, haying leisurely cleared the ample touch-hole of his blunderbuss with an acacia 
thorn, and then by the aid thereof inserted a suitable modicum of powder, obtained with some difficulty from his gigantic 
ox-horn magazine — which complex operation occupied other two minutes and a half—levelled for the third time. On this 
occasion the bullet did leave the tube, and away thundered the irritated animal — the Sanguinary sportsman offering «large bets 
that Death would overtake his victim ere it had travelled an hundred yards! But from the top of an eminence we gazed at 
the dusky figure as it waned smaller and smaller to the perception, now trotting, now galloping over the plain below, until at 
length it stood stock still, and began browsing upon the bushes; whereupon the preceptor, covered with infamy, having tossed 
his empty gun over his brawny shoulder, cocked his only optic at his jeering messmates, and acquainted them that the failure 
of his experiment was solely to be attributed to the infamous quality of the kruid.+- ; 
Our friend on the other hand, received upon a subsequent occasion rather an awkward lesson in the process by which the 
Rhinoceros conducts the war against the human species. We were leading the hot trail of a herd of Elephants, and whilst 
passing a little green knoll, an old lady was perceived sunning herself under the walls of - deserted stone kraal which crowned 
the summit. Andries had that morning drawn the dappled mare in the lottery, and being in an unusually crusty humour 
thereat, was ‘resolved to mar the sport to the utmost of his poor ability. Dismounting without ‘saying a syllable, and making 
fast the bridle to a tree, he boldly advanced towards the quarry — which for once in a way appeared to be most peaceably 
“disposed —and cocking his long gun with an air of singular success, triumphantly fired a four-to-the-pound ball into the animal's 
ribs. Forth she came, brandishing her ploughshare in a towering passion— and whilst not an object appeared in the whole 
Jandseape behind which to seek refuge, the mare, having broken her bridle, was trotting quietly away. A pair of tight leathern 
inexpressibles, which from their fashionable cut had long formed his boast, so impeded his downward progress, that he was 
overtaken in a trice, and the rent inflicted in their nether portion by a thrust of the animal’s sharp horn, sufficiently proved 
how* nearly we had been bereft for ever of the valuable services of our now crest-fallen hero. 
One stormy morning, when hunting was altogether out of the question, our little party was on its way to eut out 
the teeth’ of sundry elephants that had been slain the preceding day. The | road lay under a ruined cattle enclosure, whence 
a vicious Rhinoceros, the only tenant, perceiving the difficulty with which we extricated our feet from the deep black mud 
—of which several pounds attached themselves at every | step— resolved to take us at a disadvantage, With a grunt and 
a whistle, out he sallied accordingly, fully bent upon mischief; and the dampness of the atmosphere causing no less than 
three out of our four guns to miss fire, the assassin was actually in the middle of us, when a ball from my second barrel 
fortunately piercing his eye, he fell dead at our feet. Ere many days had elapsed, however, I took my revenge for this 
act of unprovoked ageression upon an unhappy member of the fraternity that I detected asleep in another of keh stone 
enclosures, The walls, which were extremely extensive, had only one outlet, before which having drawn a stiff thorn 
branch, and taken post outside, I aroused the slumberer by a shot under the left ear. Never shall I forget his amazement. 
* Angl. " Aye, I shall smash the rogue om that very spot!" 
+ Angl. Gunpowder. 
