THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 145 



Often those terrible snakes lie and watch for us at the 

 pools where we go to drink. One hot sweltering day we 

 all trooped down to a pond to have a drink, and wash our 

 heads and faces. We scattered all about the neighbourhood 

 and scouted about, but no enemies were to be seen. Thinking 

 all safe we began to drink and dip our heads and splash the 

 water over each other. Like a lightning flash a brown 

 streak shot out of the water, and one of our folk was in 

 the coils of a great python. It seems that the python had 

 sunk himself under the water and waited his chance. These 

 snakes often make use of that dodge. They keep the tip 

 of the nose out of the water until they see a buck, or one 

 of us, or some other creature approaching. Then the head 

 is silently withdrawn under the water, and the snake watches 

 until his intended victim is within reach. These snakes 

 can live for an hour or even two hours or more with their 

 heads under water. They are cold-blooded creatures, and 

 can live a long time without breathing. If we warm-blooded 

 folk were deprived of air for even two minutes we should die. 



THE WILD CATS 



An enemy we dread is a big cat as large as a pointer dog, 

 called a Serval or Tijger-bosch-kat. He lies concealed in 

 the grass or thick creeper-covered bush, and when any of 

 our folk come within reach, he springs upon them. One 

 day, as the sun was setting, we were chasing and capturing 

 beetles which were coming out of the crevices of an old 

 tree in the forest, when a Serval shot straight up with one 

 bound from the ground, a distance of twelve feet, to a branch 

 where my chum and I were sitting. Seizing my friend with 

 his claws and teeth, both dropped with a thud to the 

 ground. My chum fought valiantly. Screwing up our 

 courage we raised a loud war-cry and assaulted the Serval. 

 He didn't wait for the onslaught, but with a bound vanished 



K 



