There is another peculiarity about this kind of adder which has been noticed particularly in the western parts of Cape Colony. When any one comes across one of them, his attention is very often attracted to it in the first instance by the singular noise it makes between hissing and spitting; and on looking at the creature more closely, he occasionally finds its body all perforated, and a number of little snakes issuing from the orifices; it has hence been concluded that the brood of the puff-adder thus eats its way into the world. For my own part, I do not concur with this theory, and I would offer an explanation of the phenomenon, in which I am supported by the testimony of an eye-witness. I believe that of all the South African snakes, none more than this is distinguished by devotion to its young; and whenever danger approaches, I think it inflates itself, and in its agitation rushes upon its foe with expanded jaws, and, whether designedly or not I do not say, swallows some portion of its teeming brood. These are prevented by another inflation of the mother’s jaws from escaping where they had entered, and so force for themselves an exit where they can.
After descending the Puff-adder heights on the lower Sirorume, we entered the valley of the Limpopo, known also as the Crocodile River; the hilly district on the left shore terminated in a woody table-land to the west, the right shore being quite flat, and enclosed by prairie-like plains. The river-bed was sandy, and varied from thirty to ninety feet in width; the bank was steep, and covered with impenetrable bush or long grass. On the shore I found frequent traces of crocodiles, and a few of hippopotamuses; in the more open and clayey parts I also noticed the tracks of lions and leopards. In the adjacent places we observed indications of the existence of koodoos, pallahs, waterbocks, bushbocks, hartebeests, gnus, giraffes, and zebras.
On the 22nd we reached the mouth of the Notuany, a river that rises in the Transvaal, in the western Marico district; it flows only after very heavy rain, and even then not over the whole of its course, which is 150 miles long; it is deep, and lies, as it were, in a trench; ever and again pools occur along its shores, which always contain fish, and sometimes crocodiles. From the west, the Notuany takes up a considerable number of sand-rivers. The stream was now flowing, and as its mouth was much blocked up by reeds, we felt pretty sure that no crocodiles would have made their way overland to the water, and so we ventured to enjoy a bath at the ford, which was moderately deep.
On the southern side of the river-mouth we found one of the “dornveldts” common in the Limpopo valley, a wide tract of rich soil, densely overgrown with bushes of the Acacia horrida, six feet in height. These are districts which might well rejoice the heart of a European landowner; but for years to come no doubt they are destined to lie fallow.
For two days I remained on the banks of the Notuany, finding both in the animals and plants most interesting material for study. I shot a grey-horned owl and a carrion kite.
Just as we were approaching the mouth of the Marico, while we were crossing one of the numerous rain-channels that make their way down, our axle broke, but we managed to make it hold together till we reached a farm at no great distance.
I had the good fortune next day to meet with two herds of pallahs. These creatures appear to range over the whole country, thence to Central Africa, and hereabouts take the place of the blessbocks of the southern grass plains.
Our progress began now to be very considerably retarded by the rains; for some weeks it had been as wet as it was in Shoshong, so that we had to go through a succession of marshes for nearly half the distance along the Limpopo and Marico valley, being perpetually unable to find a dry spot for our encampment at night.
During the morning march of the 26th, our attention was arrested by a brilliant scene. On the left bank of the Marico, spreading out over the best half of a large meadow, was a carpet of fiery red, set in a frame of verdant sward, and enclosed with the dark green foliage of the mimosa. This spectacle of beauty was caused by masses of flowering aloes, which sent forth their gorgeous spikes of blossom some three or four feet above the cluster of prickly leaves. Where the aloes were thickest, I noticed that they were not unfrequently overhung by a beautiful sulphur-coloured creeper.
An attack of illness on the 28th made me discontinue our march. Whether it was the result of my continuous exertions, or the effect of the miasma of the district, or whether I had taken a chill from the dampness of the places in which we had camped, I cannot tell, but certain it was that I found myself quite unable to move, and had to be lifted out of the waggon; a violent sickness came on, my head became as heavy as lead, and I was quite incapable of answering the numerous questions which my friends in their anxiety kept putting to me. My senses soon quitted me altogether, and for two hours I lay in a condition of delirium, from which I was only roused by being vigorously bathed with cold water. Boly sobbed aloud in his distress. F. ran hither and thither like a madman, and Eberwald showed me such sympathy and unremitting attention as endeared him to me more than ever. Recovering my consciousness, I resolved to bleed myself. I was quite satisfied that no gentler measure could relieve the extreme pressure of blood on the head. The operation was quite successful, and immediate relief followed. Nature did the rest, and in three days’ time I had so far recovered, that we were able to proceed on our way.