is that the rhinoceros is neither animated by the
implacable man-destroying passion ascribed to him by the amateur hunter,
nor is he so purposeless and haphazard in his rushes as some would have
us believe. On being disturbed his instinct is to get away. He generally
tries to get away in the direction of the disturbance, or upwind, as the
case may be. If he catches sight of the cause of disturbance he is apt
to try to trample and gore it, whatever it is. As his sight is short,
he will sometimes so inflict punishment on unoffending bushes. In doing
this he is probably not animated by a consuming destructive blind rage,
but by a naturally pugnacious desire to eliminate sources of annoyance.
Missing a definite object, he thunders right through and disappears
without trying again to discover what has aroused him.

This first rush is not a charge in the sense that it is an attack on a
definite object. It may not, and probably will not, amount to a charge
at all, for the beast will blunder through without ever defining more
clearly the object of his blind dash. That dash is likely, however, at
any moment, to turn into a definite charge should the rhinoceros happen
to catch sight of his disturber. Whether the impelling motive would then
be a mistaken notion that on the part of the beast he was so close he
had to fight, or just plain malice, would not matter. At such times the
intended victim is not interested in the rhino's mental processes.

Owing to his size, his powerful armament, and his incredible quickness
the rhinoceros is a dangerous animal at all times, to be treated with
respect and due caution. This is proved by the number of white men,
out of a sparse population, that are annually tossed and killed by the
brutes, and by the promptness with which the natives take to trees-thorn
trees at that!-when the cry of faru! is raised. As he comes rushing in
your direction, head down and long weapon pointed, tail rigidly erect,
ears up, the earth trembling with his tread and the air with his snorts,
you suddenly feel very small and ineffective.

If you keep cool, however, it is probable that the encounter will
result only in a lot of mental perturbation for the rhino and a bit
of excitement for yourself. If there is any cover you should duck down
behind it and move rapidly but quietly to one side or another of the
line of advance. If there is no cover, you should crouch low and hold
still. The chances are he will pass to one