io6 



THE PUFF ADDER. 



An infuriated Puff Adder presents a very unprepossessing appearance. I once saw a 

 female of this species in a most excited state. She had been disturbed in her retreat 

 under an old stump by some Kaffirs, who were widening the highroad through the Berea 

 bush at Natal. She had several young ones with her, and showed fight immediately she 

 was discovered. The Kaffirs were determined to kill the whole family, but were fearful of 

 approaching her. Happening to pass at the time of the discovery, I organized a ring, 

 and, procuring some large stones, directed the Kaffirs to open fire. After a few minutes 

 the excited lady was killed, and she and her young were carefully buried in a retired 

 locality, lest some bare-footed Kaffir might tread upon her head, and thus meet 

 his death." 



There is certainly in nature no more fearful an object than a full-grown Puff Adder. 

 The creature grovels on the sand, winding its body so as to bury itself almost wholly in 

 the tawny soil, and just leaving its flat, cruel-looking head lying on the ground and free 

 from sand. The steady, malignant, stony glare of those eyes is absolutely freezing as the 



PUFF ADDERt-Clotho arietta*. 



creature lies motionless, confident in its deadly powers, and when roused by the approach 

 of a passenger, merely exhibiting its annoyance by raising its head an inch or two, and 

 uttering a sharp angry hiss. Even horses have been bitten by this reptile, and died within 

 a few hours after the injury was inflicted. The peculiar attitude which is exhibited in 

 the illustration is taken from life, one of the Puff Adders in the collection of the Zoological 

 Society having been purposely irritated. In the background is seen another individual 

 of the same species, as it usually lies, half-buried in the sandy soil. 



It is rather curious that the juice of tobacco is an instant poison to these creatures, even 

 more suddenly deadly to them than their poison to the human beings who can absorb the 

 tobacco juice with \mpunity. The Hottentots will often kill the Puff Adder by spitting in 

 its face the juice of chewed tobacco, or making it bite the end of a stick which has been 

 rubbed in the tobacco oil found in all pipes that have been long used without being 

 cleaned. 



The Bushmen are in the habit of procuring from the teeth of this serpent the poison 

 with which they arm their tiny but most fearful arrows. In the capture of the Puff Adder 



