AN EXCITING ADVENTURE. 69 
from a neighbouring tribe was as securely protected as such 
people were in the old Highland clans. 
The Python is the most popular “ familiar”’ of the Kafir 
Witch. On this ground alone the average Kafir would never 
dream of interfering with it. 
These ‘“‘ Witch-doctors”’ may be of either sex. Colonists 
usually make no distinction in the name. 
AN EXCITING ADVENTURE. 
I was staying at the farm of a Boer friend, and one morning 
accompanied him down to his rabbit hutches to help feed the 
rabbits ; and in one of those hutches we found a sixteen-feet 
Python asleep, with a big Belgian hare inside of it. It had 
squeezed itself between the iron bars, swallowed the rabbit, 
and finding it could not get out, made itself comfortable and 
dozed off. We shoved it into a sack, and I rode a twenty-mile 
journey home, with it strapped to the front of the saddle. On 
the way it got alarmed, and began to struggle. My pony turned 
his head, sniffed the sack, and next instant shot across the hillside 
at break-neck speed. The sack got loose and fell. However, 
when my frisky pony had worked off his surplus energy, I re- 
turned, packed up my sackful of Python, and wended my weary 
way homeward. My troubles were not over, for on arrival home 
late in the night I told my native groom to take off the sack and 
put it on the ground and stable the pony. Presently I heard a 
most awful yell, and rushing out, was just in time to see my Python 
making off into the darkness, and the Kafir lying on his back 
bawling at the top of his voice in Zulu for his mother and his 
father, as is their custom when frightened, or in pain. It seems 
the silly fellow, in removing the sack from the saddle, went and 
undid the cord binding up the mouth of the sack. At least, that 
was his explanation. The real fact was he thought there was some 
buck meat inside the sack, and wanted to make sure, so as to be 
prepared to beg some when I came out again to see if my horse 
had been rubbed down and properly fed, as was my custom. I 
never saw that Python again, but somehow the news got about, 
and I was voted a pest and a nuisance, and people talked of 
petitioning Government to remove me from the neighbourhood. 
