for me. The soft soil had deadened the sound of his
approach, and as I was at the time thoroughly engrossed
in the stalk, I had not heard him. The whistle from
my men, warning me of my danger, gave me just a moment
in which to leap to one side and avoid the rush
of the animal.
As a rule the rhinoceros snorts when it charges; but
this one had not made a sound. Needless to say, I
failed to get a shot at either the zebras or giraffes.
However, while the men were pitching camp, they were
charged by another rhinoceros, which paid the death
D e a d R h in o c e r o s
penalty for its temerity. We did not cut this animal
up at once, and during the night it was visited by a
hyena. One may form a conception of the thickness
and toughness of the hide of a rhinoceros from the
fact that, although the jaws of the hyena are very
powerful, the beast had to satisfy itself with the ends
of the ears and the tip of the tail, being unable to
make any impression upon the other parts of the
body.
Near this portion of the river we saw several large
zeribas. In these were unmistakable signs that they
once held camels, sheep, donkeys, and goats. Judging
from appearances at that time, they had been unoccupied
for more than a year.
On the third day after leaving the plateau we entered
a thick forest of acacias. This forest was literally alive
with rhinoceroses, which charged the caravan at almost
every turn. We also saw many giraffes at this point.
There one of our porters died of dysentery, and was
buried by his companions. They made a shallow grave
with their axes and machettes, and wrapping him in
about four yards of sheeting, left him as silent evidence
of our visit to this part of the world.
After another day’s journey we emerged from the
forest, and entered upon a treeless plain covered with
coarse grass, which grew to a height of eight feet.
The river at this point was much narrower — not more
than forty feet wide — and flowed between steep banks.
A t intervals along its shores were little sandy strips,
on each of which we would find a monstrous crocodile
lying. Upon our approach, these saurians would noiselessly
slip off and disappear in the water. Along both
banks of the river elephant trails were to be found,
but for which it would have been impossible to traverse
the jungle. These trails did not afford the very
best paths for travel, having been worn in the rainy
season, and in consequence filled with deep holes made
by the ponderous feet of these animals.
A t noon we reached a small, solitary group of poplars.
My men climbed some of these trees and reported that
across the river in the jungle, at a distance of iooo
yards, there was a herd of twenty-two elephants. The
grass was so tall we knew it would be impossible to
get them, so we contented ourselves with gazing at