The first is the Mamba. Around the Mission we generally encountered the green Mamba which was long and thin around the neck but was very quick. It was generally hunting birds in the high acacia trees around Mission. It could climb up a solid mud brick wall with ease.
One day my wife, Esther, came in to say that she had seen a snake on the stick fence outside our home but she added, “It was only a green tree snake.” I quickly warned her that it was a Mamba and they are very deadly.
In the backyard of our Mission house there was a Kipanda Mpodi. A large thatched roofed structure which sheltered us when working outside on a rainy day. Well someone had yelled “snake! snake!” (“Nyoka, Nyoka”) in Kisonge. People came running from all around into our yard. They were looking for the culprit who had quickly hidden. While they were milling around the Kipanda Mpodi a young slip of student saw the tip of its tail poking out the thatch . Without telling anyone he whipped it out of the thatch and hurled it into the middle of the crowd of searchers. They all levitated and took off post haste. Remember to move quickly and know what you are doing when handling a Mamba. Our House help, Eshiba, knew what to do. He would pin the neck with a stick then roll the stick up close to the head and then pick it up behind the head and take it home for dinner.
Eshiba’s brother was running up the ridge shouting 'Nyoka' one day after turning on the water-pump in the valley. He was being chased by a huge black Mamba. His father, YaShimbanyi killed it with a bamboo. It must have been 8 feet long.
| A black Mamba |
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