BUFFALOES AND CROCODILES 



with me. I baited them with large pieces of meat. 

 Whenever I had a bite from an animal, I gave it a long 

 line, about one hundred and fifty feet of thin, strong 

 rope. Then ten to twelve of my men pulled for all they 

 were worth and dragged the crocodile — often weighing 

 a thousand pounds — to the bank. While the saurian 

 was beating the water with its awful tail, I killed it 

 with a shot aimed at a spot just behind the head. The 

 dying animal emitted a sickening smell of musk. I 

 often caught six or more crocodiles in one night. We 

 had to be very careful to keep out of the reach of the 

 flexible and powerful tail of the animal. One of my 

 men was particularly eager to catch the hated "mam- 

 ba " — he had once had a narrow escape from a reptile 

 and had sworn to take revenge on the whole brood. 



The stomachs of most of the reptiles contained bones 

 of mammals and fishes, and also pieces of quartz, often 

 as big as an apple, swallowed to aid digestion. In one 

 animal I found a vulture, which I had killed and thrown 

 into the river — the crocodile had swallowed the bird 

 whole. It is very difficult to observe the intimate life 

 of the crocodile, and therefore our knowledge of its ways • 

 and habits is rather scanty. Even the young reptiles 

 are exceedingly shy and cautious. The larger they 

 grow the more careful they become. They always live 

 in water deep enough ff)r their size, so that they may 

 watch for their prey completely hidden themselves. 



I once arrived, after a long march, at the bank of a 



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