A WALK ROUND THE ZOO 253 



again, whereas the hornless breeds often attack 

 one another with their round but knobby fore- 

 heads. The hunter of big game in Africa puts 

 this smooth-browed buffalo almost or quite at 

 the top of the list of those most dangerous to 

 encounter. 



The snakes and the lions are equidistant from 

 the other end of the cattle sheds. The snake 

 house is almost exciting when there are some 

 rattlesnakes newly arrived. They have not yet 

 learnt the mysteries of glass. If you go at all near 

 them they coil themselves into figures of eight, 

 poise their venomous heads at you, ever bending 

 the catapult more tensely, while behind, the rattle 

 quivers till it becomes invisible by the rapidity 

 of its vibration. You scarcely hear the rattle 

 through the glass, and as you bend forward to do 

 so you seem to fall under the mesmerism of the 

 snake. It is with an effort that you tear yourself 

 away, though you are at the same time in a cold 

 sweat at the horror of its deathly power. 



You do not find the Indian cobra giving way to 

 paroxysms like that. The American defends his 

 snakes by saying that they at any rate give honest 

 warning of their belligerency. They are not 

 sneaks like the assassin snakes of India, polished 

 fiends that would as soon kill you as not, whereas 

 the rattlesnake only does so if you persist in 

 disregarding his warning. 



But is the rattle of this viper primarily an 

 instrument of warning ? My own opinion is that 



