Kills a Venomous Black Snake for a Small Reward.
A road party, comprising the usual gang of natives were employed on the construction of a road in the Tugela valley, Natal, about 30 or more years ago. In the course of their work they came on a huge stone which it was necessary to remove, but beneath it was the home of a large black mamba, well known to the neighboring inhabitants as being old, and therefore very venomous. The mamba is the most deadly of the South African snakes, and the superintendent anticipated some trouble over that rock. He offered a bribe for the snake’s skin, and the gang “wowed” and sat down to “bema gwi” [take snuff.} But a slim youth sauntered forward and amid the jeers and protestations of the rest declared himself equal to the task. He took from his neck what looked like a bit of shriveled stick, chewed it, swallowed some of it, spat out the rest on his hands and proceeded to rub his glistening brown body and limbs all over. Then taking up his stick and chanting a song of defiance, he advanced to the bolder. There he roused the mamba who in great fury at being disturbed bit him in the lip with great venom. The boy took no notice of the bite, but broke the snake’s back with his stick, and bringing him to his master, asked for the reward, obtaining which, he went back to work, and the bite of the reptile had no effect on him whatever.
No bribe, not even that of a cow [better than any gold in the eyes of a native], would induce the native to disclose the secret of his antidote, which he said had been handed down in his family for generations. The snake was a very long one and so old that it had a mane. It is a well known fact that certain of the Zulus have antidotes for the more deadly snake poisons, which they preserve as a secret within their own families.
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