In A Very Short
Time, A Fine Male Was Discovered Making Towards Me, But Not
Exactly Knowing Where He Should Bolt To.
While he was in this
perplexity, I stole along between the bushes, and caught sight of
him standing as
If anchored by the side of a tree and gave him a
broadsider with Blissett, which, too much for his constitution to
stand, sent him off trotting, till exhausted by bleeding he lay
down to die, and allowed me to give him a settler.
In a minute or two afterwards, the good young princes, attracted
by the sound of the gun, came to see what was done. Their
surprise knew no bounds; they could scarcely believe what they
saw; and then, on recovering, with the spirit of true gentlemen,
they seized both my hands, congratulating me on the magnitude of
my success, and pointed out, as an example of it, a bystander who
showed fearful scars, both on his abdomen and at the blade of his
shoulder, who they declared had been run through by one of these
animals. It was, therefore, wonderful to them, they observed,
with what calmness I went up to such formidable beasts.
Just at this time a distant cry was heard that another rhinoceros
was concealed in a thicket, and off we set to pursue her.
Arriving at the place mentioned, I settled at once I would enter
with only two spare men carrying guns, for the acacia thorns were
so thick that the only tracks into the thicket were runs made by
these animals. Leading myself, bending down to steal in, I
tracked up a run till half-way through cover, when suddenly
before me, like a pig from a hole, a large female, with her young
one behind her, came straight down whoof-whoofing upon me. In
this awkward fix I forced myself to one side, though pricked all
over with thorns in doing so, and gave her one on the head which
knocked her out of my path, and induced her for safety to make
for the open, where I followed her down and gave her another.
She then took to the hills and crossed over a spur, when,
following after her, in another dense thicket, near the head of a
glen, I came upon three, who no sooner sighted me, than all in
line they charged down my way. Fortunately at the time my gun-
bearers were with me; so, jumping to one side, I struck them all
three in turn. One of them dropped dead a little way on; but the
others only pulled up when they arrived at the bottom. To please
myself now I had done quite enough; but as the princes would have
it, I went on with the chase. As one of the two, I could see,
had one of his fore-legs broken, I went at the sounder one, and
gave him another shot, which simply induced him to walk over the
lower end of the hill.
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