94 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
stand in the hall, and sundry ugly cuts in the wallpaper caused by 
the wild blows aimed at the reptile. 
Hauling the mangled body out in triumph, one of the fellows 
declared he would take it to the museum the following day. 
I quietly assured them it was only a common Brown House 
Snake, that it was perfectly harmless, as harmless as a lizard, and 
that it was evidently intent upon catching mischievous, thieving 
mice. 
House snakes soon become quite tame, if gently handled at 
frequent intervals. Those in our cages are taken out, and while 
being held in the hand, they take dead mice from the fingers, and - 
swallow them. 
One evening when walking in St. George’s Park, at Port 
Elizabeth, I attempted to capture a snake, which I noticed on 
the path. In the darkness I bungled, and the reptile bit my hand. 
I felt the sting of its teeth. Being too dark to identify the 
species, I seized it firmly and hurried off to the nearest electric 
light. J was much relieved to find that, instead of a Night 
Adder, it was a harmless Brown House Snake. Now, if I had 
known nothing about snakes I should probably have rushed off 
for help in a great state of alarm and nervous dread, and doubtless 
have been dosed with some popular snake bite remedy, and ever 
afterwards advocated it as a cure for snake bite. 
Mucu Apo ABouT NOTHING. 
The following appeared in a certain Cape Colony newspaper, 
and was telegraphed all over the country :— 
“Our Louwsburg correspondent writes :—An extraordinary 
affair occurred last night, when the inmates of the local gaol— 
situated four miles away—were thrown into commotion by the 
entrance of a snake into one of the two cells which a paternal 
Government has provided for the accommodation of prisoners 
and witnesses alike. About 1I p.m. one of the prisoners heard 
a rustling noise near him, and, thinking it was a mouse, put out 
his hand to drive it away. His fingers came into contact with the 
body of a snake, and immediately he was bitten on the hand. 
The shouts of the prisoners brought out the warders, but when 
they entered the cell the snake had already retired into its hole. 
The bitten man was suffering severely, and a messenger was 
