30 THE SNAKES. OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
with. I placed a Cape Cobra in its cage. The Muishond instantly 
ran into a cornereand faced the snake, which was on guard with 
raised body and hood expanded, ready to do battle with his foe. 
Suddenly the Muishond darted into another corner of the cage. 
Like a flash the snake swerved and again faced him. The 
Muishond repeated the manceuvre, but the snake was not to be 
flanked. He faced his foe every time. Finding these tactics 
of no avail, the Muishond began badgering the snake by snapping 
and snarling at him. At last the reptile,.in a fury, lunged fiercely 
forward. His intended victim nimbly sprang aside, thus avoiding 
the blow, and before the snake could recover himself the Muishond 
seized him by the back of the neck, and holding on tenaciously, 
inflicted serious damage by lacerating his victim’s flesh. His 
endeavour was, evidently, to crush the snake’s backbone, which 
he very soon did. Heseemed to know quite well that the Cobra 
was now helpless, for he let go and rested a few moments. Then, 
seizing the reptile’s head, he chewed it up and swallowed it, 
and then satisfied his appetite on a portion of the body. 
Hearing a grunting noise near a mimosa tree, under which 
a friend and I had camped out for the night in the Natal bush- 
veld, we took a small bull’s-eye lantern, and proceeded cautiously 
to investigate. Presently a shrill, ear-splitting yell broke the 
stillness of the forest. Flashing the light of my lantern in 
the direction of the noise, there, within two yards of us, was a 
striped Muishond, with his paws firmly planted on an adult 
Black-necked Cobra (Nata migricollis). The Muishond stood 
facing us menacingly, daring us to approach, and making the 
forest ring with his sharp penetrating yells, launched out at 
us at intervals. Thinking he had intimidated us sufficiently, 
he began, with a succession of low growls and snarls, to eat 
the still-living snake, eyeing us suspiciously with his keen 
little eyes all the time. 
After satisfying our curiosity, we retired and left the plucky 
little fellow to finish his well-earned meal in peace. 
I have allowed Meercats (Suricata tetradactyla), Striped 
Muishonds (Zorilla striata), Grey Mungooses (Herpestes pulveru- _ 
lentus), and the Large Grey Mungoose (Herpfestes caffer) to be . 
bitten by Puff Adders or Cape Cobras, or injected with their 
venom. In every instance these animals died of the usual symptoms 
of snake venom poisoning in from ten minutes to several hours 
