204 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
the origin of the belief of the feather-crested snake. It would, 
I suppose, when the snake raised its head, spread into a file, 
giving him the appearance of wearing a feather. The snake when 
casting his skin had been unable to rid himself of the neck-skin, 
and this had accumulated for years. It must be sometimes a 
source of great annoyance to the owner, making him vicious. I 
showed the natives this skin, but they would not be convinced 
about its being an explanation of the feather business. They 
told me their fathers wouldn’t kill the Mamba, as it would have 
provoked the wrath of the mighty Umtagati (God).”’ 
This explanation of Mr. Marley’s seems to offer a fairly reason- 
able explanation, but it is not, I think, the one which accounts 
for this widespread belief amongst the natives of the existence 
of a Crested Mamba. 
Mr. W. F. Jones is a gentleman who has lived for years in 
those parts of Zululand most frequented by Black Mambas. He 
has hunted them daily for the purpose of collecting their venom 
for scientific purposes. He has been responsible for the deaths 
of many hundreds. He writes me as follows :—‘‘ It may not be 
generally known, but Black Mambas have the power of apparently 
inflating the greater portion of the body and neck. The neck is 
not distended in the manner of the Cobra family, but the sides 
appear to be compressed together so that when seen straight on, 
this section of the body presents the appearance of a narrow 
ridge. When viewed sideways it gives the creature with its 
very small head a grotesque appearance. The full distension is 
rarely resorted to. It moves deliberately and even awkwardly, 
and quite unlike itself when the distension is complete, and it 
would be a very dangerous proceeding to molest one at such 
times. A nine to twelve foot Mamba at this time looks twice its 
usual girth, and is a startling object. Before there is time to 
recover from the surprise, the snake has achieved its purpose, 
and vanished. This is merely a temporary ruse to cover retreat 
over ground exposed to the view of an intruder. The moment 
the snake is out of sight the body assumes its usual outline, and 
either glides off rapidly, or remains perfectly still and intensely 
vigilant. Undoubtedly, the snake wishes you to believe it has 
gone to ground, and it is safest that you should so believe, and 
cross it no more for that day. Though it is a comparatively 
rare occurrence for the Black Mamba to assume this guise, the 
