WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



fants. The mother supports her young upon her neck 

 until it is able to swim and to take care of itself. The 

 attitude of the crocodiles, however, changes towards a 

 dead hippopotamus. The water-lizards are usually in- 

 formed of the presence of a dead river - hog by the 

 "bloody sweat" exuding from the pores of the excited 

 animal and floating down-stream. Then they will come 

 on in great numbers and bite and tug at the carcass. 

 I have been a witness to such scenes at different times. 

 Once I killed an old hippopotamus in a stream. The 

 current drove it against a sand-bank and washed it up 

 on the sand. I sent the two men who were with me 

 to the camp to call for more men and to get ropes. 

 Shortly afterwards I saw, first one, then several heads 

 of crocodiles appearing above the surface some distance 

 below the sand - bank — the water - lizards had scented 

 the dead animal. I stood only a few yards away, be- 

 hind the trunk of a tree, and curiously watched the 

 strange scene. A head appeared above the water close 

 to the carcass for a second, disappeared, and a mo- 

 ment later a crocodile about twelve feet long climbed 

 up on the dead river - hog. The lizard opened its 

 jaws and tried to bury its teeth in the dead body. 

 Involuntarily, I made myself as small as possible be- 

 hind the tree. It did not last long when about twenty 

 crocodiles assembled around their prey and were tug- 

 ging at it with all their might. The thick epidermis 

 resisted their teeth, but they tore off the ears, part of 



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