. BANKS O'F THE T-ACAZZE. ,357 
those that we saw did not exceed sixteen feet in length, and 
their colour was a dusky brown like that of the elephant. As 
the scene struck me particularly from its novelty, I went down 
to some short distance from the rocks on which our party stood, 
and made a sketch of it, which is here given. 
While we were thus engaged, we occasionally observed several 
crocodiles, called by the natives agoos, rising at a distance to the 
surface of the river : they appeared to be of an enormous size and 
of a greenish colour. The natives of Abyssinia in general seem 
to entertain a more than usual dread of this animal ; for, if any 
one goes to the Tacazze even to wash his hands, he takes a com-^ 
panion with him to throw stones into the water for the purpose of 
keeping oiF the crocodile ; and in crossing a ford, it is usual with 
the natives to carry their spears and to make as much noise as 
possible, though these animals are seldom known to frequent the 
shallower parts of the stream : while the very thought of bathing 
in the river seemed to strike them all with horror. The ther- 
mometer in the neighbourhood of the Tacazze rose as high as 
95 in the shade. 
I shall not attempt to discuss the question, whether this river were 
the Astaboras or Astapus of the ancients, which are said to have 
partly encircled the Island of Meroe ; since this appears to me a 
subject that has been already sufficiently handled, nntil further dis- 
coveries shall have been made which may throw some new light 
upon the subject. If the account given by Ptolemy be correct, that 
celebrated island must have been situated very far eastward, be- 
tween the Tacazze and the Mareb, since he includes the city of 
Axiim within its limits ; but this so totally contradicts the accounts 
