from the coigne of vantage where he was safely
ensconced, “ Dereb! Dereb!” (Shoot! Shoot!); but the
man to whom he shouted was apparently unwilling to
divert the attention of the rhinoceros to himself, and
so neglected to take advantage of the opportunity.
Almost as soon as Lieutenant von Hohnel was
knocked down, Felix and the two other fox terriers
ferociously attacked the rhinoceros, and by their barks
and the vigour of their attack finally succeeded in
diverting- the attention of the animal toward them-
selves; thereby, without doubt, saving Lieutenant von
Hohnel’s life. The rhinoceros, by that time thoroughly
aroused, having left Lieutenant von Hohnel,
charged the men behind the trees; and catching
sight of poor Sururu, who had had a prior and painful
experience with these animals, thundered in his
direction, but he managed to elude it. Fortunately
the beast did not succeed in doing further damage;
but it is a matter of the deepest regret to me that it
escaped with its life, and is now doubtless lying in
wait for some other unfortunate traveller.
Upon reaching Lieutenant von Hohnel, I found
him still conscious; in fact, he assured me that he
was able to walk. In that he was mistaken. We
carried him to a soft spot under a tree, stripped him
of his clothing, and attended to his wounds as well as
our slight means and skill would permit. I told my
men to take their cloths and make a hammock. This,
for a moment, they actually refused to do. Probably
they were yet dazed by the recent occurrence, and
thereby deprived of that mite of reason which in their
calm moments they possess.
The reader can well imagine my feelings upon
realizing the extent of the injuries sustained by Lieutenant
von Hohnel. Not only were we hundreds of
miles from the coast and a doctor, but most of our
store of medicine was at Daitcho, and what we had
with us was barely sufficient for a few days’ treatment
of his wound. My skill in surgery was very meagre;
and although Lieutenant von Hohnel (despite the
acute pain he was suffering) was able to direct m
what manner I should bind and dress the wound I
was overcome with a sense of my impotence, and felt
that it was the irony of fate that my friends ife
should in great measure depend upon my unskilled
treatment of his wound. Of course, nothing remained
but to remove Lieutenant von Hohnel as quickly as
possible back to Daitcho. I feared the wound would
prove fatal, but he bore up so wonderfully, that it
seemed well worth trying to get him to the coast.
That night we camped within a stones throw o
where we "had camped the preceding night - b u t
under what changed conditions! When we left this
spot in the morning, our men had left their camp-fires
burning (contrary to orders). Fanned by t e reeze,
these started a prairie fire, and for thousands of^yar s
around the spot the earth was black and charre .
Far across the desert a wall of flames could be seen
dancing in the twilight. It was on this charred
ground near the Sayer River that we pitched our
camp that night. Everything was done to make
Lieutenant von Hohnel as comfortable as possible
but with our r u d e equipment his sufferings were but