THE STRIPED MUISHOND OR STINK CAT 
sight, especially delighted in the graceful move- 
ments of the little cat. The cobra was at length 
placed hors de combat by abite upon its neck, and then 
the polecat dragged it out of the path and began 
to devour its head. One of the Fathers who had 
witnessed the fight, wishing to ascertain the length 
of the snake, seized its tail and drew it out straight. 
The polecat, instead of showing any signs of fear, 
kept fast hold of the head and growled angrily, 
just as a cat does if disturbed while devouring a 
mouse.” 
When attacking a cobra the muishond makes a 
few feints, and when the snake strikes, it rushes 
forward and seizes the reptile by the head or neck 
before it is able to recover and deliver a second 
thrust. When attacking sluggish snakes such as 
the Puff Adder, it usually approaches the reptile 
from behind, and with a sudden rush it is upon 
the snake, and instantly grips it by the neck, the 
vertebrz of which it crushes. ‘The fur is thick, and 
the skin tough, and when bitten by a snake on the 
back, the fangs, as a rule, do not penetrate, or not 
sufficiently so to enable the reptile to inject a fatal 
dose of venom. 
Of course if a muishond or a mungoose should 
happen to be slightly bitten several times by 
venomous snakes and recover, they would become 
.more or less immune to snake venom, but none 
of these animals, so far as experimented upon, 
have shown any noticeable degree of immunity. 
171 
