296 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA 



unwillingly on his part, till with a loud hiss, and a swish of 

 his folds, the serpent gathered himself into a great coil, 

 just under the horse's nose. A very unpleasant sound, 

 like the boihng of a big kettle, came from the gathering 

 pyramid of coils, and I lost no time in leaning over and 

 firing both barrels of the rifle into the mass, at the same 

 time drawing the horse back to the pathway, as I did not 

 know the customer I had to deal with. The snake made off 

 down the hill, and my horse refused to follow, so that, 

 before I could dismount and get down on foot, all trace of 

 him was lost. I was taken by surprise, or should perhaps 

 have made a better business of it. My impression was 

 that the creature was about twenty-five feet long, of a 

 leaden colour, and about as thick as a large man's thigh. 

 I have seen one killed in the same jungles, which measured 

 sixteen feet in length. They are of a very sluggish dis- 

 position, and do not molest man. The stories of their 

 swallowing spotted deer whole, antlers and all, I believe 

 to be utter myths. 



HOENS OF SPOTTED DEEE. {Scole, one-tenth.) 



