Mungoos and Cobra. 35 
mungoos was mostly on the defensive. After a few minutes 
the cobra was clearly getting fatigued and seemed inclined to 
make off; but the least. movement of his adversary brought him 
to the scratch again with hood erect, striking out with renewed 
energy. Yet there was no doubt the snake felt the effect of the 
long round, and was now, in its turn, on the defensive. For just 
an instant, he lowered his head, the mungoos dashed in, fastened 
on his neck, and never let go until he had chawed the spine to 
pieces. We could hear the crunching going on distinctly, and 
of course, the cobra went limp at once, and only rolled about 
helplessly. I do not believe the mungoos was once pricked 
even, much less did the cobra get a chance of closing his jaws 
on his enemy, without which a fatal bite could hardly be given. 
“At all events, next day he was as fit as ever, and ready for 
another fight. Captain C—— suggested that we should tie a 
handkerchief round him, to impede his movements; and this was 
managed with some difficulty. The second cobra, not so strong 
a snake as the first, was turned in with him, and the fight began, 
with all the chances in the snake’s favour. For the first few 
moments, there was little to choose; but very soon the cobra got 
fast hold of his enemy for an instant, and immediately after- 
wards the mungoos began to look dull and flurried. In spite of 
being evidently wounded, he caught the cobra about the middle 
of the body and crippled it badly, and, after a turn or two more, 
finished it off. While my boy pinned the snake down with a 
stick, we let out the mungoos, on whom the poison was taking 
effect rapidly, to see what it would do. It did not make any 
effort to search for anything, according to the generally 
received belief, though there was plenty of herbage about the 
compound, but merely moped about, and died in perhaps a 
quarter of an hour. I cut the hair off with a pair of scissors, 
and found the wounds near the shoulder. One was rather torn, 
as if the fang had dragged on the skin. We were all convinced 
that the agility of the mungoos is his real safeguard. I think it 
would be safe to back him against the snake—at least the cobra 
—wherever he had room to make a fair fight of it; but it might 
D2 
