FATALITIES. ny Bt 
homestead like a drunken man. When we reached him he 
collapsed, and died an hour afterwards. 
DANGEROUS REPTILES. 
To be bitten by a Cobra is a common occurrence in South 
Africa, and many deaths result. The unshod and bare-legged 
natives are the principal sufferers. Cobras are frequently found 
in and about farmsteads. Many farm-houses and outbuildings 
are roofed with straw, the walls being made of ‘‘ wattle and daub,” 
viz. two rows or walls of twigs entwined or interlaced, with a 
space between. These are plastered over with mud. Cobras 
frequently take up their quarters in the thatch, in the hollow 
spaces in the walls, and down rat holes, and in the crevices of the 
stone walls of the cattle kraals. The abundance of rats and mice 
about farmsteads attract the Cobras. 
FATALITIES. 
Many instances are on record of Cobras actually getting into 
bed with the sleeper, attracted there by the warmth ; and many 
are the cases of people being bitten in this way. 
Two European children were recently bitten by a Cobra, both 
of whom died. It was a very sad case. They were spending 
their holidays with a relative in the country. One night a Cobra 
crept into their bed. One of the children evidently moved in his 
sleep, whereupon the Cobra instantly bit him on the face. The 
terrified boy sat up and screamed, and before his little brother 
could realize what had happened, he too was bitten. The uncle 
and aunt, hearing the cries, rushed to the room. One of the 
children, a sturdy, manly little fellow, recovering his presence of 
mind, cried to his relatives not to come into the room, but to get 
a light and a stick, for there was a snake inside. A candle and 
weapons were hastily secured, and there, right in the middle of 
the room, was a large Cobra, reared and ready to strike. Both 
the children died before morning. 
Dogs and monkeys, if bitten by an adult Cape Cobra, will 
usually die within an hour. A Vervet Monkey which was bitten 
on the forearm died in seven minutes. Some venom injected 
