CH. VIII] POISOXOUS SNAKES lys 



straight into its chest, and knocked it fiat with the blow. 

 As it tried to struggle to its feet, I again knocked it flat 

 with the left-hand barrel ; but it needed two more 

 bullets before it died, screaming like an engine whistle. 

 Before I fired my last shot 1 had walked up directly 

 beside the rhino ; and just tlien Tarlton pointed out to 

 me a greater bustard, stalking along with unmoved 

 composure at a distance of a hundred and fifty yards. 

 I took the Springfield, and, kneeling down beside the 

 rhino's hind-quarters, I knocked over the bustard, and 

 then killed the rhino. We rode into camp by moon- 

 light. Both these rhinos had their stomachs filled with 

 the closely chewed leaves and twig-tips of short brush 

 mixed with grass— rather thick-stemmed grass— and in 

 one case with the pulpy, spiny leaves of a low, ground- 

 creeping euphorbia. 



At this camp we killed five poisonous snakes : a light- 

 coloured tree-snake, two puft-adders, and two seven-foot 

 cobras. One of the latter three times " spat " or ejected 

 its poison at us, the poison coming out from the fangs 

 like wliite films or threads, to a distance of several feet. 

 A few years ago the singular power of this snake, and 

 perhaps of certain other African species, thus to eject 

 the poison at the face of an assailant was denied by 

 scientists; but it is now well known. Selous had 

 already told me of an instance which came under his 

 own observation ; and Tarlton had once been struck in 

 the eyes and for the moment nearly blinded by the 

 poison. He found that to wash the eyes with milk was 

 of much relief On the bigger puff-adder, some four 

 feet long, were a dozen ticks, some swollen to the size 

 of cherries ; apparently they were disregarded by their 

 sluggish and deadly host. Heller trapped some jackals, 

 of two species : and two striped hyenas, the first we had 



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