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, byt 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 
