2o8 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



and a coui)lc of trusty Zulu servants, to go right into the wilds, 

 away from all civilization, and live surrounded by Nature, and 

 study the ways of her creations. 



So great is the dread of the Mamba in the native mind, that 

 if one be known to inhabit any particular locality, few, if any, 

 natives will venture there. In fact, a wide detour is always 

 made. As a general rule, the more we learn about snakes and 

 their ways, the less fear we have of them. This is usually not so 

 with the Mamba. The more one learns of his ways, the greater 

 grows the dread of him. He, without doubt, is the king of snakes 

 in South Africa. For quickness, aggressiveness, and the deadly 

 nature of his venom, he has no equal. 



After two or three encounters with large Black Mambas, I 

 learned to be wary. I found that even a gun was not always a 

 protection, so quick and sinuous were his movements. A Black 

 Mamba should never be attacked in the bush or long grass. I 

 have frequently startled Mambas out of a nap on the Kafir paths 

 in the bushy parts of Natal. Sometimes they would glide off 

 and away into the undergrowth, but as likely as not the Mamba 

 would slide up a shrub at the side of the path, and remain on the 

 defensive. If a stone be thrown at him, or if he be wounded, he 

 will, as likely as not, make straight at his aggressor, and with 

 body raised, bite him. 



I once lost a Zulu servant in this way. He had lost most of his 

 superstitious fear of Mambas, having been with me on many 

 expeditions, and witnessed numbers of these reptiles being killed. 

 Disregarding the advice of the other natives, he ventured up a 

 kloof in search of a duiker buck which was seen to enter. He 

 came back, foaming at the mouth, and gasping out the word 

 " Mamba ! " and, pointing to the upper part of his thigh, he was 

 seized with terrible convulsions and died. I mourned for long 

 over this boy, for he was so true, so brave, so simple, so devoted. 

 For there is no savage upon the face of the earth to equal a real 

 uncivilized Zulu of the kraal type, unstained and free from the 

 degrading and soul-blighting influences of the lower stratum of 

 humanity often inhabiting towns. 



The quickness of movement, grace, and ease with which the 

 Mamba glides about in his native habitat is very lucidly summed 

 up by Mr. W. F. Jones, of Zululand. " The Mamba is essentially 

 partial to trees, and thorns make no difference to the ease of its 



