AFRICAN REPTILES 181 



it is perfectly harmless and so listless that it 

 does not attempt to escape or even move when 

 discovered. Strange to say, the blacks had not 

 learned this and held them in great fear. As 

 soon as they discovered the nature of our work 

 they began to bring us specimens, and in a 

 short time there was a throng of people waiting 

 outside of the tent to be paid for the creatures 

 they had captured. Every one was anxious to 

 dispose of his prize as soon as possible, so that 

 he might hurry away for another; but they 

 brought in the specimens faster than we could 

 handle them, consequently the "congestion." 

 Whenever a new arrival appeared with a cha- 

 meleon, he caused a stampede by shouting a 

 warning and then thrust into the crowd the 

 branch to which the animal was clinging. The 

 throng immediately gave way, at the same time 

 fiercely upbraiding the man for so ruthlessly 

 endangering their lives, as they supposed. 



As the natives had no idea why we wished 

 these animals, they thought that we must be 

 crazy, and the head man said they had told him 

 they thought we were collecting them to make 

 medicine of, and as soon as we left the country 

 there would be no more sleeping sickness. 



