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, principally
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 me, 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 undoubtedly
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 examination,
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
after a stay of some months in Africa; and to this
fact I attribute the indifference with which I treated
the affair. My mind was filled with the necessity of
reaching water, and sending back succour to the men
who had gone out of their heads for the want of it;
so, after a few exclamations of relief, and a hearty
laugh over the adventure, I pressed on with my boys
to our goal.
Two hours after we reached our old camp on the
side of the crater, all my men turned up except the
two who were out of their minds, and one of their
fellows who had remained behind to watch over
them.
On the trail to the crater I had noticed footprints;
consequently I expected to meet natives. I knew
that not only the Embe visited that place for the
purpose of getting the sulphate of magnesium, but
also all the other tribes of the Jombeni range, and
there was a degree of likelihood that we should meet
a party of our old friends, the Wamsara.
Immediately upon the arrival of my men, we
entered the chasm which led to the interior of the
crater. The moon was sufficiently high to light us
on our way, and I shall not soon forget the weird
effect produced by its light, as we slowly and with
difficulty wended our way over the stony bottom of
the rift in the crater, whose walls rose high on both
sides, and by their jagged outlines gave the effect of
some mediseval ruin. When suddenly we reached
the end of the rift, and the deep extent of the vast
crater was exposed to view, illumined to its utmost
bounds by the rays of the moon, the effect was almost