GAMBIA RIVER II7 



the dark trees and the boat moved slowly in on the high tide 

 to rescue them. 



The survey parties shot one or two crocodiles and when they 

 did so they towed them to one of the riverside villages where 

 the menfolk came out of their mud-and-thatch houses and with 

 knives and hatchets made quick work of skinning the beasts and 

 chopping up the meat which they appeared to relish. Parts of the 

 tail were most sought after as making excellent steaks. The 

 surveyors took the crocodile skins and hoped to have handbags 

 made later for those at home. 



Crocodiles were not the only dangers to be encountered when 

 mapping the maze of creeks winding through the mangrove 

 swamps to the bush beyond; there were deadly black and green 

 mamba snakes, and every man carried a razor blade to cut open 

 a snake bite, and potassium permanganate crystals to rub into it, 

 the only efficient antidote. The anopheles mosquito present 

 almost everywhere in the area necessitated mepacrine being 

 included in the daily diet, while the tsetse fly was said to carry 

 germs of sleeping sickness, and one member of the ship's com- 

 pany had soon to be invalided home with this disease. 



The sick list had risen steadily until in October the average 

 daily number was nine. Abscesses and infection of the ears, 

 ulcerated legs, and septic wounds, malaria and dysentery were the 

 complaints, perhaps not surprising when the officers and men 

 spent so many hours wading and working in the mangrove swamps 

 on either side of the river. 



The climate was hot and very humid, with frequent torrential 

 rain squalls and occasional fierce tropical storms. The powerful 

 tidal streams, strengthened on the ebb by the fast flowing waters 

 of the river, made the steering of the boats along the sounding 

 lines a difficult task. 



But as the officers and men worked on under these difficult 

 conditions no one forgot that 'there was a war on', and Com- 

 mander Jenks, reporting on the behaviour of his men on com- 

 pletion of the survey, said : 



I cannot mention too highly the continued cheerful and willing spirit of the 

 Ship's Company as a whole, and their exemplary behaviour during their short 

 spells of shore leave. These men have endured six months, four of which were 



