hat no
one might take it from me. The chief, I fancy, looked upon it as my
fetish, and certainly regarded it with considerable awe. Whether or not
he had discovered that it had made the noise he had heard, I could not
as yet ascertain. Among the hunters was a young man, whom we found to
be the chief's son. He was one of the best-looking of the tribe, though
that is not saying much for him. He was, however, good-natured, and
seemed inclined to make friends of us. We therefore kept by his side.
About thirty hunters set out, headed by the young chief. They were
armed with long spears and bundles of javelins, on which they appeared
to depend for killing their prey, trusting to their activity and the
knowledge of the animals they might attack to get out of their way. We
passed through the wood we had before visited, and continued across an
open prairie till we arrived at a forest of considerable size, extending
on either hand as far as the eye could reach. The band at once entered
it, spreading themselves out so as to beat a large part of the wood, but
yet continuing within call, if not always within sight of each other.
Natty and I followed the young chief. After proceeding some way one of
the men came up, and presently we saw that they were all closing in
towards a point a little way ahead. As we advanced I saw, just over the
bushes, the back of a large white rhinoceros. The monster had come
there probably to enjoy the shade of the wood. It seemed to be alone.
The men all approached cautiously, concealing themselves under the
brushwood till they were close upon the creature, then, starting up,
they hurled their darts at it. The rhinoceros started forward, pursued
by the hunters, the young chief taking the lead. Suddenly the creature
seemed to stagger forward. Its front feet had sunk into a hole or
artificial pit, I could not ascertain which. As it did so, instead of
struggling, it remained perfectly quiet. At this juncture the young
chief, with his spear in his hand, leaped on the animal's back,
intending apparently to plunge the spear into its head behind the ear.
At that moment it suddenly reared itself up, and before our friend could
leap off again began tearing away at a rapid rate through the forest.
He clung to his seat in a wonderful way. His spear, however, before he
could strike it into the animal's neck, was hurled by a bough from his
hand. The hunters pursued, shrieking loudly through fear of t