194 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



hypodermic injections of one-tenth grain doses of strychnine had 

 a better and more lasting effect, as he seemed on the point of 

 recovering consciousness. After twenty-eight hours' treatment, 

 and thirty-one hours after the bite, paralytic congestion of the 

 lungs supervened, and carried him off in an hour, to the surprise 

 of the assembled Enghsh, Dutch, Kafir, and Hottentot bystanders, 

 who all averred that tlie Ringhals was not poisonous. I had no 

 serum, otherwise I might have saved the man." 



The Deadly Mamba. 



{Dendraspis angusticeps.) 



Imamba Emnyama or Black Mamba : Imamba Eluhlaza or 



Green Mamba (Zulu). 

 In Natal the most dreaded of all snakes is the Black Mamba, 

 and a report of one being in the neighbourhood sends a thrill of 

 fear through people living in the vicinity. And well it may, 

 for during the pairing season these snakes are very aggressive, 

 and will at times boldly attack any one courageous enough to 

 venture into their haunts. They often prowl around the habita- 

 tions of man, drawn thither by the presence of chickens, rats, and 

 mice. If attacked they will show fight, and so quick are their 

 movements that the aggressor must have all his wits about him, 

 and be well armed, else the chances are he will lose his hfe. 



Black and Green Mambas. 



There are two varieties of the Mamba. One is vivid leaf- 

 green, the other is olive or brownish-black. However, these 

 shades vary somewhat. I noticed those procured from the thick 

 tangled woodlands in the moist valleys were bright leaf-green 

 above, mth a paler shade of green, or yellowish-green below. 

 On the contrary, I noticed the Green Mambas, which frequented 

 localities more exposed to sunlight, were of a darker bluish tint. 

 A picture from the photo of the skull of a Green Mamba, which I 

 killed after keeping it alive for a couple of months, is shown 

 elsewhere in tliis volume. The characteristic Mamba fangs are 

 clearly seen. 



There is no anatomical difference between the two varieties. 

 The Green Mamba is often confounded by amateur naturalists 

 with the green variety of the Boomslang [Dispholidus iypiis) or 

 the Eastern Green Tree Snake {Chlorophis natalensis). I have 

 frequently kept Green Mambas in captivity for the purpose of 



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