A witch-doctor holds a high position in a native community, and is often able to accumulate great wealth. The practice of this profession is usually confined to certain families, the secrets of the profession being handed down from father to son. Only one member of the family practises at the same time, although he may have a number of assistants who are commonly members of his family. Some of these witch-doctors profess to be able to name and trace their ancestors back to a remote period. All the followers of this profession are skilled herbalists and have some knowledge of surgery, but they profess to effect cures by the aid of witchcraft. If a native is ill, it is said that he has been caught by some devil, and it is the business of the witch-doctor to rid him of that devil. The witch-doctor knows that certain devils dislike certain herbs, which, if administered to the sick person, may have the effect of disgusting the devil and making it fly away. A devil is frequently caught and put into a bottle, and then it is for the patient to say whether he will have it destroyed, which can only be done by fire, or whether he will allow it to be released and propitiated by various offerings, and by such means transform it into a friendly devil, which he can make use of to injure some other person. The witch-doctor is frequently employed by chiefs or other much-married men to discover whether their numerous wives have been guilty of acts of infidelity; they are also frequently employed to discover the perpetrators of any crime and the place of concealment of stolen property, and it is extraordinary what successes they achieve, particularly in discovering stolen property. OATHS Another line of practice in which witch-doctors excel is the “pulling of swears”—_anglice_, the removal of oaths. When an oath is taken upon an ordinary native “medicine,” it is possible for the oath-taker to be absolved from the consequences of a breach of his oath by engaging a witch-doctor, who, for a fee proportionate to the potency of the “medicine” used, will “pull the swear.” This is accomplished by certain ceremonies performed with other “medicines.” After the “swear has been pulled,” the first medicine has, so to speak, its teeth drawn.