126 THROUGH GASA LAND. 



of all the teeth being turned inwards towards the 

 throat.] 



That a reptile as large as the one I have just 

 encountered could kill a man there can be no doubt ; 

 but that it would undertake to do so I very much 

 question. Moreover, if a human being was armed 

 with an assegai or knife — unless his arms were 

 bound to the side of his body the moment the attack 

 was made — he would have little difficulty in releasing 

 himself. Their food unquestionably is the smaller 

 mammals that frequent their habitat, chief among 

 which I surmise to be the young of the grys-bok 

 (Calotragus melanotis), ourebi (ScopopJiorus ourebi), 

 and the mature yet dwarf species, the beautiful, 

 graceful, and timid little bosch-bok. Larger and 

 more powerful animals I feel convinced would break 

 away from such an assailant at the first onset. I do 

 not mean to say, however, that an occasional victim 

 is not made of mature beasts as large as the spring- 

 bok. 



Their usual manner of taking their prey is to 

 keep watch from the bough of a tree over the paths 

 frequented by the game when going to water, but 

 I am far from certain that they do not also make 

 captures by their powers of scent. This surmise, 

 if such it should be considered, I have formed from 

 the following incident. When shooting one day 

 alone the Indian Ocean washed shores of South 

 Africa, a half-grown inchalla, familiarly called a 



