434 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD. 



of my rifle might scare away the game I was 

 in search of. 



We saw several fresh trail of wild cattle, and 

 the pugs of a leopard, but no sign of gorillas, 

 although N'adoma pointed me out a bush-fruit that 

 looked somewhat like a dry date, which he said 

 the gorillas would come for miles to obtain. 

 Whilst I was looking for trails on the ground, I 

 saw something moving close above me as I passed, 

 and on turning my head I saw a huge python 

 hanging from a branch of a tree, evidently on the 

 look-out for prey, and swinging itself to and fro. 

 At a short distance it so much resembled the 

 creepers and india-rubber vines that stretch across 

 from tree to tree, that I must have passed much 

 nearer to it than I should like to do again without 

 perceiving it; but no sooner did I catch sight of 

 its forked tongue moving backwards and forwards, 

 than I threw up my rifle and shot it clean through 

 the head, when, after writhing about convulsively 

 a few seconds, it let go its hold of the branch above 

 and fell to the ground, when N'adoma cut ofi" its 

 head with his matchete. It proved to be an iih- 



