CH. xiv SNAKES 139 



behind with my camp equipment, my men and I 

 had settled down under some thick shrubs to pass 

 the night. It was a night of torrential rain, and 

 having warmly wrapped myself up in my blankets, 

 which I had fortunately brought along with me,* I 

 was about to fall asleep, when I felt a chill, slimy 

 contact with my skin and knew that a snake had 

 crawled under my blanket and curled itself up 

 between my legs. It was a horrible predicament ; 

 if I moved and alarmed the reptile, I should 

 probably be bitten and die a painful death within a 

 few hours, for all my medicines were behind with 

 my baggage, so calling as quietly as possible to two 

 of my men and explaining the situation to them, I 

 asked them to remove, with the greatest care, the 

 blanket covering me. This they did, disclosing a 

 large puff-adder that had probably crawled into the 

 position I have described to seek warmth and 

 shelter from the downpour of rain. Telling my 

 men to put their arms gently under my shoulders 

 and at a given signal to pull me with all their 

 strength clear of the danger, I counted one, two, 

 three, when they both heaved with a will, while I 

 simultaneously flung my legs apart to avoid further 

 contact with the reptile. I was simply shot clear of 

 the danger, and the snake, alarmed by the move- 

 ment, was about to make off when my men des- 

 patched it with sticks. 



