two feet long and a rear horn about a
foot long. At the lower slope of the hill were two or three trees that
screened our approach so that we were easily enabled to get within about
one hundred and fifty yards of them without danger of discovery. From
the trees onward the country was an open prairie for two or three miles.

Armed with a double-barreled cordite rifle and the comforting reflection
that the chances were seven to one that the rhinos would not charge, I
slowly advanced alone toward the two rhinos. Behind me about fifty yards
was the long range camera and a second gun manned by Mr. Stephenson.
When fifty yards from the rhinos I stopped, but as no offensive tactics
were apparent in the camp of the enemy, I slowly walked forward to
thirty-five yards. Then they saw me. They faced me with what seemed like
an attitude of decided unfriendliness. Their tails were up and they were
snorting like steam engines. When the big one started toward me I fired
and it fell like a log. The other one, instead of thundering away,
according to expectations, became more belligerent. It ran a few steps,
then swung around, and I felt certain that it was going to avenge the
death of its comrade. The camera brigade rushed forward, clapping their
hands to scare it away, as there was no desire to kill both of the
animals. But it refused to go. It would sometimes run a few steps, then
it would turn and come toward us. It was evidently in a fighting mood,
with no intention of deserting the field of action. Finally by firing
shots in the air and yelling noisily it turned and dashed over the side
of the hill. The photograph, taken at the instant the big rhino was
struck, was remarkably dramatic and showed one rhino in an aggressive
attitude and the other just plunging down from the shot of the big
bullet.

The front horn of the dead rhino was twenty and three-quarters inches
long and in many places the animal's hide was over an inch thick. Strips
of this were cut off to make whips, and a large section was removed to
be made into a table top. These table tops, polished and rendered
translucent by the curing processes, are beautiful as well as extremely
interesting. The rhino's tongue is even more delicious to eat than ox
tongue and rhino tail soup is a great luxury on any white man's table;
while the native porters consider rhino meat the finest of any meat to
be had in Africa. The conscience of one who slays a rhino is somewhat
appeased by