on the Countries of Congo and Loango . 27S 
Electrical Fisk .- — Happening one day to see a fish struggling 
on the surface of the water, as it floated past the vessel, I sent 
the small boat for it, and when alongside, a rope was handed 
down to haul it upon deck. The sailor who was fastening the 
rope started back in the greatest consternation, exclaiming with 
an oath, that he believed the Devil was in the fish. This in- 
duced me to examine it attentively, and I perceived that the 
cause of the man’s astonishment was an electric shock proceed- 
ing from the fish. Before each shock, the skin upon its back 
and sides became very tense. It was like a Cod, and weighed 
about thirty pounds. I gave it to the natives, who were com- 
mending it much. 
Turtle .—' There is a species of black turtle in the Congo, 
weighing about sixty-five pounds without the shell. It has a 
longer neck than the sea-turtle, with a long slender tail, and an 
ugly rough skin. It is thought excellent food by the natives 
and the French. This may be true enough, notwithstanding its 
disgusting appearance; but every one knows that the latter 
people are not very nice in the choice of their viands, provided 
they will enter into the composition of a Friccasee or Ragout. 
Crocodiles . — T hese are very numerous in the river, and the 
natives say voracious ; but they do not seem to dread them ; 
on the contrary, I have observed people bathing where croco- 
diles were swimming a short time before. They may be seen 
every hour of the day, sunning themselves upon the sandbanks. 
They appear, however, to be of a smaller species, and not so 
numerous, as at Old Callabar, where they continually float past 
the shipping like large grey pieces of timber, and are there so 
bold that they frequently seize people in the small canoes. In 
Old Callabar River, I once observed a crocodile swimming 
with a large Cat-fish in its mouth, to the opposite shore. It held 
the fish by the head, whilst the body was thrown into a per- 
pendicular position. I watched it with the spy-glass until it 
had dragged the fish upon the mud-bank, and commenced its 
meal. A party armed with muskets was then dispatched from 
the ship, to kill it, but on the approach of the boat, it retreated 
to the water with the fish in its mouth. From this I am in- 
duced to think that the crocodile cannot devour its prey in the 
water. 
