ng of her. Suddenly from the
ground, as it seemed, out dashed the weird old figure, arms full of
things, jabbering away at a great rate. Whiz came a tin plate past the
leaders' heads; the offside horse reared and plunged and took some
holding. Whiz came an old bill; then, one after another, a regular
fusilade of various utensils.

It did not take us long to get past, but for as long as we could see
the attack was kept up. Coming back we saw nothing of Bootha, and all
the utensils had been picked up.

I used to tell the other blacks to see that Bootha had plenty of food.
They said she was all right, the spirits were looking after her.
Lunatics, from their point of view, are only persons spirit-possessed.

Gradually old Bootha, clothed as usual, came back about the place.

Strange stories came through the house blacks to me of old Bootha. She
was very ill for a long time, then suddenly she recovered; not only
recovered but seemed rejuvenated. We heard of wonderful cures she made;
how she always consulted the spirits about any illness; how there were
said to be spirits in some of her dogs; how she was now a rainmaker
and, in fact, a fully fledged witch.

I was curious to see some of these wonders, so used to get the old
woman to come up when any one was ill, consult her, and generally make
much of her. There is no doubt she could diagnose a case well enough.
Matah suffered a good deal with a constant pain in one knee, he was
quite lame from it. He showed it to Bootha one day. She sang a song to
her spirits, then said:

'Too muchee water there; you steam him, put him on hot rag; you drink
plenty cold water, all lite dat go.'

As it happened a medical man was passing a few days afterwards with an
insurance agent. Matah consulted him.

'Hum! Yes, yes. Hot fomentations to the place affected, poultices, a
cooling draught. There's a stoppage of fluid at the knee-joint which
must be dispersed.'

I thought Bootha ought to have been called in consultation.

A girl I had staying with me was taken suddenly and, to us,
unaccountably ill. She was just able to get out of her room into the
drawing-room, where she would lie back on the cushions of a lounge
looking dreadfully limp and utterly washed out. Hearing of her illness
old Bootha came up. I thought it might amuse Adelaide to see an old
witch; she agreed, so I brought her in.

Bootha went straight up to the sick girl, expressed a few sympathetic
sentences, then she sai