Chap. XII. FRIGHTFUL SIGHT. 321 



caught it and shook it, as a terrier dog does a rat. Others 

 dashed at the prey, each with his powerful tail causing 

 the water to churn and froth, as he furiously tore off a 

 piece. In a few seconds it was all gone. The sight was 

 frightful to behold. The Shire swarmed with croco- 

 diles; we counted sixty-seven of these repulsive reptiles 

 on a single bank, but they are not as fierce as they are in 

 some rivers. " Crocodiles," says Captain Tuckey, " are so 

 plentiful in the Congo, near the rapids, and so frequently 

 carry off the women, who at daylight go down to the 

 river for water, that, while they are filling their cala- 

 bashes, one of the party is usually employed in throwing 

 large stones into the water outside." Here, either a 

 calabash on a long pole is used in drawing water, or a 

 fence is planted. The natives eat the crocodile, but to us 

 the idea of tasting the musky-scented, fishy-looking flesh 

 carried the idea of cannibalism. Humboldt remarks, that 

 in South America the alligators of some rivers are more 

 dangerous than in others. Alligators differ from croco- 

 diles in the fourth or canine tooth going into a hole or 

 socket in the upper jaw, while in the crocodile it fits into 

 a notch. The forefoot of the crocodile has five toes not 

 webbed, the hindfoot has four toes which are webbed ; in 

 the alligator the web is altogether wanting. They are so 

 much alike that they would no doubt breed together. 



One of the crocodiles which was shot had a piece 

 snapped off the end of his tail, another had lost a forefoot 

 in fighting ; we saw actual leeches between the teeth, 

 such as are mentioned by Herodotus, but we never 

 witnessed the plover picking them out. Their greater 

 fierceness in one part of the country than another is 

 doubtless owing to a scarcity of fish ; in fact, Captain 

 Tucke}^ says, of that part of the Congo, mentioned above, 

 " There are no fish here but catfish," and we found that 

 the lake crocodiles, living in clear water, and with plenty 



Y 



