i 
IMA 
IW 
>•;’ ;-. ' v ■ •■• ■ **: -•• •■ ... ... - •»• .■-• - •.- ■ <r; . • 
Teaches Doc 
of Bounce’, 
(&ff 
_ . _ _ _ .. H 
A little trick that will come in mighty handy back here 
in the land of week-end house parties and tourist relatives 
has been picked up by Washington’s Zoo Director and 
Mrs. William M. Mann in darkest Africa, where they are 
recruiting colonists for the Rock Creek Park reservation. 
The secret is how to get rid of ans> 
unwelcome guest, and the recipe is to taught the medicinal and magic values 
put a certain leaf in the fire which 
is heating his bath water. Dr. Mann 
gives it away in a letter to the Smith-, 
sonian Institution - describing his and 
Mrs. Mann’s initiation into the Snake 
Society of the Maho tribe of West 
Africa. 
’Tis a weird tale he tells, of a three - 
hour ceremony in the blackness of a 
jungle night, with a homed viper in a 
stellar role and signs and passwords 
changing hands. The Manns had 
gained the natives* confidence by 
hoisting the bright banners of the Ex¬ 
plorers Club and the Association of 
Women Geographers and then letting 
the abrogines in on the “secrets” of 
this Occidental symbolism. 
Next day, Doc Mann wrote, they were 
taken to a remote clearing in the forest 
by the worshipful master of the cult 
and his right-hand man* and were^ 
of 36 plants and the trick of causing 
an enemy or a delinquent debtor to 
wither and die. As a special conces¬ 
sion to the only woman ever initiated 
into the society, the worshipful master 
gave Airs. Mann an antelope horn filled 
with sacred snake medicine and in¬ 
structed her in a bit of magic which 
will give her the edge in any argu¬ 
ment. 
What a fine pair of hosts the Manns 
could be w r hen they got back, w r ith tha 
passe! of equipment! 
