Year: 1879




BILE announcement with which my frienc
Ms bush-boy,, came rushing in just abou
sunrise one morning, as we we're sitting owe
our breakfast at the door of the house.
one of those regular old Dutch built farm
houses, that one hardly ever sees nowadays
except IN South Africa. But he meant by il
was, Boss, boss the trail of big rhinocer
os rascal


Where P cried NJ, jumping up fol
he was keen sportsman, and never lost an
opportunity of 'potting' something.
Out by Hollow Spring, baas ;-spool
good =


There's chance for you, my boy said
NJ, turning to me. Now you'll be able
to see how these elephant guns of mine do
their work / think you'll find them the
right Sort


Let me try the job by myself cried 1,
eagerly for, like all 'greenhorns,' / was
frantic to do some unheard of feat, and win
my laurels at once. I've never shot rhi.
noceros yet you know


Can't, really, my dear boy said M,
in the the most exasperstingly indulgent
tone when you're little better used to
the African bush, you can do what you like;
but if 1 were to let you go alone now, the
least could expect would be life long re.
| morse for having.connived at suicide. No
we'll make a party of three to visit our
friend, and he'll hardly give the slip to us
all, I fancy


Accordingly, we started out that very night
Swart, the bush-boy, making the third OF
our party but I suppose the rhinoceros
was too modest to face so many visitors at
once, for although we kept watch till sun
rise, there was no sign of him. The next
night it was just the same and at last got
so mad at the idea of losing my chance
the first I had ever had with the big game
that, in spite of f.what M had said, l
made up my mind to try my luck single
handed


Ishould have told you that the Hollow
Spring frequented by my four-footed friend,
lay about eight miles from the house, in a
deep gully, one side of which went up into
steep hog-backed ridge, topped by big
knuckle of rock that overlooked the spring
at range of fifty yards-as pretty stand
as any sportsman could wish. So, when
night came, I stole out of the house with one
OF Ms vaunted elephant guns, "a piece
carrying fve.ounce explosive ball. steel
Tipped, and holding enough Illuminating
powder to blow out the spine of megathe.
rum. To guard against the recoil of such a
charge, the stock was fitted with thick
pad so, with gun and ammunition tog tn
er, had quite enough for an eight mile
tramp through the bush.


1 dare say there are ugly thickets in
South America and Central Asia but Afri
ca beats them both. Imagine forest of
fish hooks, relieved by an occasional patch
of penknives, and you have it exactly.
There's one horrid spiky thing. called by
the Dutch 'Wache.em- bette which the En-
glish have corrupted into wait Bit and
it does make you wait bit if it once gets
hold Of you. I've known fellow to be laid
up a fortnight from cash from one. So
you may think with masses of this nice stuff
all around me, had to pick my way gin.
gerly enough.


When l got to the place, 10 and behold
the pad of my gun had fallen off To GO
back and look for it would have been'like
hunting for needle in hay stack so ]
| filled my handkerchief with wild grass, and
tucked it under the shoulder of my jacket
as substitute, and then took my post be.
hind the rock and waited.


The full moon was just rising over the
trees Ia glorious sight, can tell you), wher
l heard distant trampling. like the tread
of an elephant, only quicker for full
grown rhinoceros, clumsy as he looks, car
be active enough at times, as you'd soor
find if you stood charge from him when
his temper's up. So had not long to wal,
before there came up a thick snort, and {
great br6~n barrel of body loomed out il
the streak moonlight, just over the spring.
hardly stopped to take aim, before pulled
trigger.


The next few seconds were blank ant
then l awoke to the consciousness that mi
shoulder was aching as if it were broken
and that something was grunting savagely a
few yards off; and then I saw the hug,
snout and great white tusks coming righ
at me don't think any acrobat could hav,
been quicker than was in clutching pro.
jecting bough, and swinging up into the tret
overhead and I'd hardly got there wher
the'brute came bang against the trunk, al
most shaking me off again. For g rinut
or two my heart was in my mouth, for h
thumped against the tree till 1 reall,
thought he would have it down and wheI
he found he couldn't he stamped the earth il
fury, and tore it up with his horn in hor
ribly suggestive way that made my fesl
creep.


Here I was, then, in the crisis of regu
lar adventure such as had always longed
for but somehow, now that 1 was in it, /
didn't seem so very delightful. It's on
thing to read of adventures in an easy chsi
after dinner, and another to act them fo
yourselfon hard bough, with thousands O
mosquitoes pitching into you, and ma,
rhinoceros galloping about underneath.


The likeness between my situation an
some of those recorded by Captain Msyn
Reid set me overhauling my recollections @
that yeracious author, in the hope of a
idea but the more l thought, the more tn
Captain failed me, Basil, when followed u
a tree by bear, got his brothers to thro
him rope and slid down but l had n
brothers, and no rope. Ben Brace, whe
'treed' by the lion, lssooed his dropped mu
ket, and slew the king of beasts Herewith
but had no lasso, aud couldn't have used
if / had. Somebody else, blockaded by
grizzly waited till Bruin fell asleep, an
then slipped away but my rhinocer,
seemed distressingly wide awake, and eve
ifhe had dozed the experiment would n
have commended itself to my fancy. In ia
, the most mastery stratagem l could deyi
was TO stay still where WAS. and d;d IN