126 natives' method of 



present, it requires no prophet to foresee will at 

 some time hereafter be immense. The inhabit- 

 ants of Attah are enterprising traders, and mo- 

 nopolise in a great measure the trade above 

 the town. Notwithstanding this, we had been 

 lying at our anchorage for ten days, and could 

 see no prospect of opening any trade with them ; 

 not from indisposition towards us on the part 

 of the natives, but from their dilatory habits 

 — time being of no importance to them. Per- 

 haps another reason might be, that, with the 

 exception of slaves, they have little to trade 

 with. 



One day, while we lay at anchor off the town, 

 I witnessed one of the most ingenious ways of 

 killing an alligator that could be imagined. 

 One of these huge creatures was discovered 

 basking on a bank in the river, a short distance 

 ahead of our vessels. He was observed by two 

 natives in a canoe, who immediately paddled to 

 the opposite side of the bank, and having landed, 

 crept cautiously towards him. As soon as they 

 were near the animal, one of the natives stood 

 up from his crouching position, holding a spear 

 about six feet long, which with one blow he 

 struck through the animal's tail into the sand. 



