6o THE LIVING CYCADS 



in the river, big boa constrictors in the bush, and even 

 more dangerous Httle snakes in the grass. A medical 

 missionary told me that the bite of the green "momba," 

 not larger than our black snake, is fatal within fifteen 

 minutes, and that of the brown ''momba" is fatal within 

 half that time. Early in the trip, when I was trying to 

 impress upon my guide, who spoke no English, that I 

 was not afraid of snakes, he patted my heavy leather 

 leggings and then patted his own bare shins, indicating 

 that he should observe a reasonable degree of caution. 

 Some birds protect their eggs and young by building 

 their nests on slender twigs hanging over the water, so 

 that snakes can neither crawl down the twig nor rise 

 far enough out of the water to do any damage. Along 

 the rivers it is not rare to see scores of such nests on the 

 drooping twigs of a single tree. 



The southern part of the Stangeria range is a great 

 ostrich country. Wild ostriches are numerous, and 

 ostrich farming, with modern incubators and scientific 

 breeding, is a leading industry. I was surprised to learn 

 that in a country where ostriches still run wild a pair 

 of thoroughbreds bring as much as a thousand dollars, 

 and that high-grade feathers are worth, at the farm, as 

 much as $200 a pound. Xenophon in his Anabasis 

 noted the speed of the great bird. In South Africa 

 people sometimes ride them as they would horses. The 

 birds often race with railway trains, and the tales one 

 hears would fill a book. 



The secretary bird is scarcely less interesting. It is 

 held in great respett because its principal diet is snakes, 

 even the most venomous ones. This bird is a fighter, a 

 finished boxer. It does not swoop down from above 



