A SNAKE ADVENTURE. 147 



and having done so, not being in a hurry, I slipped my 

 arm through the hridle and walked leisurely forward. 

 Bob was about ten yards in front of me, pursuing the 

 same course, when suddenly he jumped on one side. I 

 knew it was a snake that had alarmed him, so, dropping 

 my reins, I proceeded to discover of what breed it 

 was, and if possible destroy it. It was the small species 

 of the puff-adder the horned puff-adder the cerastes, I 

 believe, of the ancients, and which is represented to have 

 been the reptile used by Cleopatra to compass her own 

 destruction. It was lying on some bare sand, in the 

 usual figure of 8 shape, a favourite attitude with all this 

 family. I imagine their great thickness in proportion 

 to their length is the reason they do not coil themselves 

 up as other species do. The creature in question I soon 

 dispatched with a stone, and examined the glands, which 

 were surcharged with poison. The Boers and Kaffirs 

 consider this one of the most poisonous of the numerous 

 reptiles of this country. While speaking of snakes, 

 another species, well known in the colony as the sheep- 

 sticker, and pronounced to be very poisonous, from ex- 

 amination of specimens that I have killed, I am inclined 

 to believe innocuous. On one occasion I saw a cat 

 catch one in a lady's drawing-room, and so far did 

 puss seize it from the head, that if the creature had 

 been venomous its destroyer's life would have been 

 sacrificed. 



On returning to the pony, and taking hold of the 

 reins, as soon as I advanced my hand to his head-stall 

 to reverse them over his neck, he shied back as if in 

 great alarm, and it required some minutes before he 

 would permit me to closely approach. The reason of 

 this conduct in so staid and proper-minded an animal 

 K 2 



