With Flashlight and Rifle ^ 



the body of the bull floating on the water. It was 

 being torn to shreds by numbers of crocodiles, who kept 

 reaching their heads out of the water to bite at it. We 

 fired in their direction, but did not disturb the rapacious 

 animals in the least, and were obliged to leave them in 

 possession of their booty. 



I lost several cows in the same way at other times. 

 Men were sometimes seized in a similar manner, and 

 I was once witness of this. On the return journey to 

 the coast after a successful termination to my 1899-1900 

 expedition, a native fell off the foot-plank which bridged 

 the Pangani River near Korogwe. He was immediately 

 seized by crocodiles, and disappeared before our eyes 

 a victim to the sweet palm-wine of which he had drunk 

 too freely ! 



Often I have been seized with a lively feeling of 

 dread when we have had to wade through the water 

 shoulder-high in order to get across a river. On these 

 occasions the natives make themselves a strong crocodile 

 charm, a " Daua." My " Daua " was simply to fire a 

 number of shots into the water above and below the 

 fords ! I have seen a great number of natives seized by 

 crocodiles, many of them escaping in cases where the 

 crocodiles were small. 



My method of fishing for crocodiles was only feasible 

 at night time, or on a very cloudy day, as is often the case 

 with line-fishing. One absolutely necessary precaution 

 was the careful hiding of the angler behind a covert on 

 the river-bank. 



The new-comer may often be deceived as to the number 



298 



