58 CROCODILES. 



thousand in as short a space of time. They are mostly 

 yellowish-green in colour, but some are slaty, and others 

 spotted with black. The back is serrated like a coarse pit- 

 saw, and the head seems small in proportion to the body. 

 They are often attended by a small bird which feeds upon 

 the crocodile's parasites, and in return is said to warn it of 

 any danger. They are regarded with a superstitious dread 

 by many of the Malagasy tribes, and are so dangerous in some 

 parts of the island that at every village on the banks of the 

 rivers a space is carefully fenced off with strong stakes, so 

 that the women and girls can draw water without the risk of 

 being seized by the jaws or swept off by the tail of these 

 disgusting-looking creatures. This I saw all along the banks 

 of the Matitanana, one of the largest rivers of the south-east 

 coast. Amongst the tribes dwelling on either side of this 

 same river, there used to be, and perhaps still is, practised a 

 kind of ordeal for those who are suspected of certain crimes, 

 in which the crocodile has an important part to play. (See 

 chapter on Folk-lore and Popular Superstitions.) Cattle are 

 frequently carried off by crocodiles when a herd of them ford 

 or swim across a river, and one of my friends told me that 

 in the Mangoro he saw an ox suddenly disappear, and in less 

 than half an hour he noticed an empty skin floating on the 

 water a little lower down the stream, having been completely 

 divested of what it covered. I was somewhat inclined to 

 think he was drawing on his imagination or my credulity ; 

 but he assured me it was a simple statement of fact. The 

 eggs of the crocodile are collected and sold for food in the 

 markets, but I never brought myself to test the merits of 

 these delicacies. They are about the size of a turkey's e<w 

 with a very thick and rough white shell. 



Fishes. — The fresh-water fish of Madagascar are not yet 

 well known ; and in the interior provinces of elevated land 

 they are few in species, and, except of small fish, there are 

 not many edible varieties. Large quantities of brilliantly- 

 coloured fish, much resembling the gold and silver fish of our 

 ornamental ponds, are, however, found in the rice-fields, and 

 sold in the markets for food, but are only eaten by the 

 poorer people. The eels are of large size and great thickness ; 



