gh the leather and remained there. The fang had merely grazed the
skin of the two sons when they put on the boots, and had thus caused
their death."

"Are the snakes here as deadly in their poison as the rattlesnake of
America?"

"Equally so,--that is, two or three of them; some are harmless. The most
formidable is the cobra capella (not the same as the Indian snake of the
same name). It is very large, being usually five feet long; but it has
been found six and even seven feet. This snake has been known to dart at
a man on horseback, and with such force as to overshoot his aim. His
bite is certain death, I believe, as I never heard of a man recovering
from the wound."

"Well, that is as bad as can be. What is the next?"

"The next is what they call the puff adder. It is a very heavy, sluggish
animal, and very thick in proportion to its length, and when attacked in
front, it can not make any spring. It has, however, another power,
which, if you are not prepared for it, is perhaps equally dangerous
--that of throwing itself backward in a most surprising manner. This is,
however, only when trod upon or provoked; but its bite is very deadly.
Then two of the mountain adders are among the most dangerous snakes
here. The mountain adder is small, and, from its not being so easily
seen and so easily avoided, is very dangerous, and its bite as fatal as
the others."

"I trust that is the end of your catalogue?"

"Not exactly; there is another, which I have specimens of, but whose
faculties I have never seen put to the test, which is called the
spirting snake. It is about three feet long, and its bite, although
poisonous, is not fatal. But it has a faculty, from which its name is
derived, of spirting its venom into the face of its assailant, and if
the venom enters the eye, at which the animal darts it, immediate
blindness ensues. There are a great many other varieties, some of which
we have obtained possession of during our journey. Many of them are
venomous, but not so fatal as the first three I have mentioned.

"Indeed, it is a great blessing that the Almighty has not made the
varieties of snakes aggressive or fierce,--which they are not. Provided,
as they are, with such dreadful powers, if they were so, they would
indeed be formidable; but they only act in self-defense, or when
provoked. I may as well here observe, that the Hottentots, when they
kill any of the dangerous snakes, invariably cut off the head and bury
it;