40 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 



effort to understand them and are thus largely 

 responsible for the troubles that arise. In recent 

 years, the attitude of the colonial governments has 

 changed for the better and there have been fewer 

 disturbances. 



The natives came to have confidence in me, espe- 

 cially after the capture of the python, and accepted 

 me as a friend. Often during the evening, when 

 the hadji and I sat talking on the veranda, thirty 

 or forty natives would squat near us, listening to 

 the conversation. If the hadji or I cracked a joke, 

 they would laugh uproariously not that they un- 

 derstood what had been said, but simply because 

 they wanted to do the proper thing. 



The hadji's nephew, Ali, became my devoted 

 servant. He was about twenty years old and far 

 more intelligent than the average ; also he was brave 

 and resourceful qualities that made him my most 

 valuable aid until he was killed during one of our 

 expeditions several years later. 



When I went to Singapore with the python, I 

 took Ali with me, and for weeks after, he enter- 

 tained the natives of Palembang and me with his 

 stories of what he had seen and done. It was an 

 excellent example of the feats that Malay imagina- 

 tion can perform. 



In Singapore I found an agent of Cross, of Liver- 

 pool, of whom I have spoken, and sold the snake 

 to him for $300 (Mexican), which was considered 

 a banner price. I was glad to have the opportunity 



