Page:Seven Years in South Africa v1.djvu/292

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
234
Seven Years in South Africa.

and when I approached the dog I found him in front of a great tubular ant-hill, barking furiously. The other dogs began to bark in concert. I soon saw the cause of the animal’s excitement; a great yellow cobra-capella, nearly seven feet long, was winding itself round the ant-hill; its neck was all inflated, and it was hissing vehemently. A moment was enough for me; I put a charge of small shot clean into the reptile, and had the satisfaction of dragging it out from the bushwood, a notable addition to my naturalist’s collection.

Niger and the cobra
Niger and the cobra

NIGER AND THE COBRA.

In the course of the evening we came to the