42 LEAVES FKOM A GAME BOOK. 



though known to the natives as the Fishing Frog. This 

 creature had an enormous mouth, with a protruding 

 under-jaw armed with sharp teeth. The head was out 

 of all proportion to the body, while from the centre of 

 the forehead grew a long tapering tendon, not unlike 

 the thin end of a lady's riding whip, and terminating 

 in a black tuft overhanging the mouth of the "frog." 

 It is said that small fish, taking this tuft for some- 

 thing to eat, are at once snapped up by the open 

 jaws below as they approach to inspect it. We 

 estimated this specimen to scale about thirty pounds, 

 but the enormous head as compared with the small 

 body made it difficult to judge with accuracy, for on 

 that particular day we had not a steelyard with us, 

 and since then I have often regretted not having 

 consigned the hideous thing to the hands of the 

 taxidermist. It did not in the least heed the boat 

 being over it, as for some time I had it kept stationary 

 in the hopes of seeing a fish caught, which to my 

 great regret did not happen, although the beast seemed 

 to be lying open-mouthed with his bait dangling over 



