THE NDHLONDHLO. 185 



krantz through some grass which had recently been burnt, shooting 

 Pigeons, and suddenly became aware of the presence of the snake 

 coming towards me with its head raised some three feet or more above 

 the ground. I noticed that it seemed to have a hood on the top of its 

 head. I at once fired, killing it on the spot, and, although it was shot 

 through the head, it was not injured in the slightest, as I was using 

 No. 6 shot, and the distance was sufficient for the shot to have scattered. 

 On examining its head there were some long scales — three, I think — 

 which, when lifted up, formed a sort of hood. These scales were from 

 half an inch to an inch long. Being very proud of my trophy, I 

 dragged it several miles home, when it was examined by several old 

 natives, and carefully measured, with the result stated. It was much 

 lighter in colour than numerous other Black Mambas I have killed 

 and seen, being of a dark slate-colour, particularly about the head, 

 which was almost a pale bluish colour." 



Mr. Saunders gives his testimony with admirable clearness: 

 He declines to commit himself to a belief in the existence of the 

 Ndhlondhlo as a distinct species, but his dictum is merely an 

 expression of personal opinion. 



Now, upon the assumption that it was a very old Black 

 Mamba, it would be a most interesting addition to natural 

 history knowledge to learn that it was so completely differ- 

 entiated from the normal Black Mamba as to induce, in natives, 

 the belief that it was a distinct species. But this supposition 

 seems hardly tenable. Black Mambas are now as numerous as 

 ever. Why, then, are there no old ones to he seen nowadays 1 

 Until this question is answered it seems difficult to come to any 

 conclusion other than that the Ndhlondhlo was a distinct species, 

 which is now quite or nearly extinct. 



The head of an ordinary snake is as bare of scales as the 

 carapace of a Tortoise. Mr. Saunders says that the three scales 

 were upon the head. Possibly this may have been an error, due 

 to imperfect observation. Yet my old waggon -driver, Mataffayen, 

 who had seen Ndhlondhlos dead and living, described them as 

 having a feather or plume upon the head. On my questioning 

 him closely, he replied that it was not a feather but resembled a 

 feather when the creature was alive. 



Even if its existence is not established on the foregoing evi- 

 dence, it is clear that the belief in its existence could not have 

 been mythical, for, with Kafirs, myths are persistent. Notwith- 



