expression of agony at finding that his horse was failing, I
quickly obtained a place between the two brothers, Taher and
Roder Sheriff. There had been a jealousy between the two parties
of aggageers, and each was striving to outdo the other; thus Abou
Do was driven almost to madness at the superiority of Taher's
horse, while the latter, who was the renowned hunter of the
tribe, was determined that his sword should be the first to taste
blood. I tried to pass the rhinoceros on my left, so as to fire
close into the shoulder my remaining barrel with my right hand,
but it was impossible to overtake the animals, who bounded along
with undiminished speed. With the greatest exertion of men and
horses we could only retain our position within about three or
four yards of their tails--just out of reach of the swords. The
only chance in the race was to hold the pace until the rhinoceros
should begin to flag. The horses were pressed to the utmost; but
we had already run about two miles, and the game showed no signs
of giving in. On they flew,--sometimes over open ground, then
through low bush, which tried the horses severely; then through
strips of open forest, until at length the party began to tail
off, and only a select few kept their places. We arrived at the
summit of a ridge, from which the ground sloped in a gentle
inclination for about a mile towards the river; at the foot of
this incline was thick thorny nabbuk jungle, for which
impenetrable covert the rhinoceros pressed at their utmost speed.
Never was there better ground for the finish of a race; the earth
was sandy, but firm, and as we saw the winning-post in the jungle
that must terminate the hunt, we redoubled our exertions to close
with the unflagging game. Suleiman's horse gave in--we had been
for about twenty minutes at a killing pace. Tetel, although not
a fast horse, was good for a distance, and he now proved his