342 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT chap. 



path, whistling, and my two tent-boys were engaged 

 in eager conversation about twenty feet to my left 

 and rear, when suddenly I heard Baraka shout, " Yallah 

 bwana mkubwa!" (For the love of God, master). 

 As he shouted, I felt a sharp blow on my left side 

 just over the pocket of my coat, and leaping quickly 

 to one side, I ran on for two or three paces. Upon 

 turning around, I saw a snake rising out of the path 

 which I had just left, with its head fully three feet 

 from the ground. Its fierce eyes shone in the light 

 of the setting sun, and its neck was swollen out until 

 it appeared to have the breadth of two hands. As I 

 gazed, it slowly and noiselessly sank to the earth and 

 disappeared from the path. I did not pursue it, prin- 

 cipally for the reason that a shot fired after sunset 

 was understood by my caravan to mean a signal of 

 distress; and that would have resulted in my men 

 throwing down their loads and running forward to 

 meet mic, thus delaying our arrival at the water. 



My escape from such a disagreeable death was most 

 fortunate. Had it not been for the fact that I carried 

 in the left-side pocket of my coat two strongly bound 

 note-books, the fangs of the serpent would undoubt- 

 edly have penetrated to my flesh, and judging from 

 its size (the fact that it was able to raise its head a 

 sufficient height to strike my pocket, proved its entire 

 length could have been little short of six feet) death 

 would have been practically instantaneous. Upon ex- 

 amination, I found that the fangs had penetrated 

 quite through one of the books, and nearly through 

 the outer covering of the other. It is strange how 

 accustomed one becomes to disagreeable surprises 



