MOXGOOSIANA. 303 



" But there are no snakes in England." 



" Oh, yes ; my brother occasionally has delirium tremens, 

 and sees lots of snakes." 



" But, my dear sir, what he sees are imaginary snakes." 



" Well, and this is an imaginary mongoose," said the 

 traveller (who must have been a Yankee), disclosing a per- 

 fectly empty basket. 



In a country infested by deadly snakes like India, the 

 mongoose is really a useful little animal. The most 

 venomous cobra dreads him, and he kills down ordinary 

 snakes like a cat does mice. It used to be supposed that 

 the mongoose possessed some antidote against their bites, 

 but in late years it has been clearly proved that they 

 owe their immunity simply to their agility, and the quick- 

 ness with which they seize a snake before it has time 

 to strike. 



There is a most exciting sport peculiar to Deoli — spearing 

 crocodiles. But it is only possible in the dry season, when 

 the lake they inhabit becomes shallow. The crocoddes then 

 live in the mud at the bottom, and are speared, or rather 

 harpooned, from the bow of a Hat-bottomed boat. The butt 

 of the harpoon is fastened to a strong line, and the crocodile 

 played like a gigantic fish until exhausted enough to be led 

 near the shore. Then the noose of a rope is slipped over his 

 head, and he is hauled on land. ( Frequently the crocodile 

 shows fight aud charges the boat, or attacks the men drag- 



