60 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 7a 



name and only a few inches in height. These leaves they chew, 

 then rolling some other leaf to form a funnel, they discharge the 

 spittle into the eyes of the person attacked, who is cured within the 

 hour. I questioned this, and they said it was no infrequent occur- 

 rence for their dogs to put up a cobra and get spittle in the eyes; 

 they claimed to be able to cure the animal immediately with "kata- 

 makamakikulu," so as to resume their walk without the eyes being 

 inflamed or sight impaired. 



To prevent a snake spitting they put a "dawa" called "ilende" 

 into its mouth so that the poison will not fly but only dribbles from 

 its jaws. Alternatively another plant called " ilumbalumba " is taken 

 in the mouth of the snake "fundi" while he is bagging the snake and 

 it causes the snake to miss its aim. This plant has a very pungent 

 smell ; they brought me one at my request, for it grows at Dodoma. I 

 asked why they inflated their cheeks when handling the cobras and 

 they said the snake was less likely to spit at you when you did so, as 

 it thought you were going to spit at it! Nevertheless I saw the 

 snakes did spit, though none of the venom got in the natives' eyes, 

 as they were quick in turning their heads away. 



DENDRASPIS ANGUSTICEPS (Smith) 



GREEN OR BIACK MAMBA 



Native names. — ?Siana (Chigogo); Fune (Kiswahili). 



It will be observed that the name given me by the Wagogo is the 

 same as the Wanyimwezi name for the brown and olive boomslang; 

 there may be some confusion. Near the river at Bahi Mr. Hockley 

 was running after a wounded buck when a mamba shot across his 

 path; five minutes later when quartering the cover he came up with 

 and shot a snake which was apparently the same reptile. As I 

 approached the bush in which it was it darted forward 3 feet (though 

 shattered far back in the body near the tail) and struck at my stick 

 most viciously. It measured over 7 feet but was far surpassed by a 

 magnificent specimen, some 10 feet long, I should think, which was 

 disturbed by Salimu as it basked among some rocks at the foot of 

 one of the Dodoma kopjes. It passed within 20 feet of me as it 

 crossed some open ground, and I had a good look at it. Both these 

 snakes were dark olive in color though popularly known as black 

 mambas. I sa"w two somewhat smaller ones at Saranda. The only 

 live specimen obtained by the expedition was purchased by Mr. 

 Carnochan near Shinyanga, but its fangs having been removed by its 

 native captors it died within a month, as is usually the case with 

 snakes so treated. 



Gurukezi tells me that after a pupil of the Wayeye has gone through 

 the preliminary exercises he is taken out into the bush by the old snake 

 "fundis" to locate a mamba, which, when found, he is told to catch; 



