177' ROUND THE WORLD. 329 



of a tree near the river, so that it seems not to be 

 the opinion of these people, that, in prowling the 

 earth, " the devil walketh through dry places." 

 Mr. Banks once asked, whether they thought Satan 

 spent the money, or ate the victuals ; he was answer- 

 ed, that as to the money it was considered rather as 

 a mulct upon an offender, than a gift to him who had 

 enjoined it, and that therefore, if it was devoted by 

 the dreamer, it mattered not into whose hands it 

 came, and they supposed that it was generally the 

 prize of some stranger who wandered that way ; but 

 as to the meat they were clearly of opinion, that 

 although the devil did not eat the gross parts, yet, 

 by bringing his mouth near it, he sucked out all its 

 savour without changing its position, so that after- 

 wards it was as tasteless as water. 



But they have another superstitious opinion that 

 is still more unaccountable. They believe that 

 women, when they are delivered of children, are 

 frequently at the same time delivered of a young 

 crocodile, as a twin to the infant : they believe that 

 these creatures are received most carefully by the 

 midwife, and immediately carried down to the river, 

 and put into the water. The family in which such 

 a birth is supposed to have happened, constantly put 

 victuals into the river for their amphibious relation, 

 and especially the twin, who, as long as he lives, 

 goes down to the river at stated seasons, to fulfil this 

 fraternal duty, for the neglect of which, it is the 

 universal opinion that he will be visited with sick- 

 ness or death. What could at first produce a notion 

 so extravagant and absurd, it is not easy to guess, 

 especially as it seems to be totally unconnected 

 with any religious mystery, and how a fact which 

 never happened, should be pretended to happen 

 every day, by those who cannot be deceived into a 

 belief of it by appearances, nor have any apparent 

 interest in the fraud, is a problem still more difficult 

 to solve. Nothing however can be more certain 



