quitting this place we had a narrow escape, the recollection of which
still fills me with horror. We were walking rapidly back towards our
encampment, chatting as we went, when Peterkin suddenly put his foot on
what appeared to be the dead branch of a tree. No sooner had he done so
than the curling folds of a black snake fully ten feet long scattered
the dry leaves into the air, and caused us both to dart aside with a
yell of terror.

I have thought that in the complicated and wonderful mechanism of man
there lies a species of almost involuntary muscular power which enables
him to act in all cases of sudden danger with a degree of prompt
celerity that he could not possibly call forth by a direct act of
volition. At all events, on the present emergency, without in the least
degree knowing what I was about, I brought my gun from my shoulder into
a horizontal position, and blew the snake's head off almost in an
instant.

I have pondered this subject, and from the fact that while at one time a
man may be prompt and courageous in case of sudden danger, at another
time the same man may become panic-stricken and helpless, I have come to
the conclusion that the all-wise Creator would teach us--even the
bravest among us--the lesson of our dependence upon each other, as well
as our dependence upon Himself, and would have us know that while at one
time we may prove a tower of strength and protection to our friends, at
another time our friends may have to afford succour and protection to
us.

I have often wondered, in reference to this, that many men seem to take
pride in bold independence, when it is an obvious fact that _every_ man
is dependent on his fellow, and that this mutual dependence is one of
the chief sources of human happiness.

The black snake which I had killed turned out to be one of a very
venomous kind, whose bite is said to be fatal, so that we had good cause
to be thankful, and to congratulate ourselves on our escape.

In this region of Africa we were particularly fortunate in what we saw
and encountered, as the narrative of our experiences on the day
following the above incidents will show.

We had scarcely advanced a few miles on our journey on the morning of
that day, when we came upon a part of the country where the natives had
constructed a curious sort of trap for catching wild animals; and it
happened that a large band of natives were on the point of setting out
for a grand hunt at that time.