NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



The muishond frequently burrows into sod 

 fences and makes its lair therein. One day I set 

 a Kafir to dig one out. He came upon it rather 

 suddenly, and before we were aware of the fact 

 I had received a stream of scent upon my coat, 

 vest, and trousers. The odour was so horrible 

 and nauseating that I felt symptoms similar to the 

 worst form of sea sickness. I bolted off at full 

 speed for home, a distance of about a quarter of 

 a mile, discarding my garments as I ran. 



I subsequently asked my native groom if he 

 would like to have the suit, which was a new one. 

 He accepted it jubilantly, with many an ejaculation 

 of delight. I told him the smell wouldn't come off, 

 but he only smiled a smile of increduHty, and 

 remarked that he would soon wash it out. The 

 clothing was steeped in warm soapy water over- 

 night- and was thoroughly washed the follov^ng 

 day. A few days later the native gloomily admitted 

 I was right, and that he scrubbed the clothes till 

 he was exhausted, but the smell remained. 



A year later, when turning over lumber in an 

 outhouse in quest of Night Adders {Causus rhom- 

 beatus) which had become rather troublesome, 

 I came across that suit hanging from a peg, but it 

 smelled as strongly as ever. 



The muishond will boldly attack animals con- 

 siderably larger than itself. Sometimes it steals 

 upon a sleeping hare unawares, and should it succeed 

 in obtaining a grip with its teeth, the hare is doomed, 



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