CROCODILES 211 



down. The honey has a pecuHar and rather nice 

 flavour. It is very watery. 



Near the junction of the rivers the trees dwindled 

 greatly in size. I saw a lot of game, including a herd 

 of fifteen male waterbuck drinking. They made a 

 lovely picture, with a background of the well-wooded 

 opposite bank of the Kuru. The junction of the 

 rivers must in the rains have resembled that of the 

 Agwei and Pibor. The spit of land which divided 

 them was almost void of trees. The Kuru was broad 

 and sandy, the Biri narrow and rocky to the last. 

 I am sure that once the mouth of the Bahr el Arab 

 is cleared river steamboats could come even much 

 further south than this. 



On the left bank of the Biri was a solitary doleib 

 palm. Not far from it Commander Fell, R.N., in 

 floating down from Dem Zubeir to Chakchak in a 

 canvas boat, was attacked by crocodiles. At one 

 place he had to carry his belongings round a cataract. 

 He told me that the agony he suffered in helping 

 his two companions was awful. It showed him what 

 wonderful fellows carriers are. The boat cut deep 

 into his shoulder. Were I to mention "grit" I would 

 lay myself open to the charge of gilding gold. 



The rest-house and ferry is four miles due north 

 of the river junction. At the latter place the Kuru 

 assumes the Dinka name Chell. It is quite a hundred 

 yards broad at the ferry. I read that the oases in 

 Upper Egypt are fed with the water from the Bahr 

 el Ghazal. When one thinks of the imperceptible 

 amount that enters Lake No, and the myriads of 



