31 6 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



an antidote ; therefore, in consequence, the same beHef is held 

 by the native population. Large numbers of colonists also have 

 unquestioning faith in its efficacy. 



A certain well-known South African journal, in a leading 

 article on " Isibiba," voices the public belief in this substance 

 as follows : — " We have been assured by Native Commissioners 

 and other men of position in the Transvaal that they have per- 

 sonally witnessed marvellous cures worked by this substance. 

 A very small quantity — as much as will cover the point of an 

 ordinary penknife — taken internally, and a little of it rubbed 

 into the wound and into small incisions on the wounded limb 

 above the wound, has been known to restore the bitten man to 

 complete convalescence within twenty-four hours after his con- 

 dition had been so precarious that he had already become un- 

 conscious, and also blind from the consequences of a Puff Adder's 

 bite. 



"Other unquestionable evidence could, if necessary, be adduced 

 to bear out the assertion that ' Isibiba ' is not a mere palliative, 

 but a sure and indubitable cure for snake bites. From what 

 plant or substance ' Isibiba ' is prepared by the native doctors 

 is as yet a secret which they have managed strictly to 

 preserve." This alleged antidote is also believed to confer abso- 

 lute immunity to snake venom. 



Experiments with Isibiba. 



The Hon. F. W. Reitz, Ex-President of the Orange Free 

 State, and a former State Secretary of the Transvaal, and Presi- 

 dent of the Senate of the Union of South Africa, who takes a 

 keen interest in the quest for a reliable snake-bite antidote other 

 than serum, sent me a phial of genuine fresh " Isibiba," to 

 enable me to carry out a series of experiments. This " Isibiba," 

 on examination through a microscope, appears to be the root 

 of a plant. The root is finely pulverized, and is of a reddish- 

 sandy shade in colour. A subsequent examination has shown it 

 to be a mixture of certain herbs and desiccated snake-flesh. 

 Realizing the unsatisfactory nature of experiments of this kind 

 on small creatures, such as rats, guinea-pigs, rabbits, etc., I 

 procured a large male Vervet Monkey {Cercopithecus pygerythrus) 

 in the fullest vigour and health. Mixing a heaping egg-spoonful 



