3io 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAP. 
behind the high bank across the river, its level rays shining full 
upon us, rendering us conspicuous from the river, while prevent¬ 
ing our seeing in that direction. Shebane had just gone a little 
way off (perhaps a dozen yards) along the brink and taken off 
his clothes to wash himself, a thing I had never known him do 
before when with me ; but, my attention being then taken up 
with what I was doing, I took no notice of him. I was still 
looking down when I heard a cry of alarm, and, raising my 
head, got a glimpse of the most ghastly sight I ever witnessed. 
There was the head of a huge crocodile out of the water, just 
swinging over towards the deep with my poor Swahili boy in 
its awful jaws, held across the middle of his body like a fish in 
the beak of a heron. He had ceased to cry out, and with one 
horrible wriggle, a swirl and a splash all disappeared. One 
could do nothing. It was over ; Shebane was gone. The men 
soon came swarming down (some one having given the alarm) 
to see, some with guns ; one fool asked for boats. There was 
nothing to be done, but sadly to pick up the ownerless clothes. 
I felt truly sad and sorry for my servant, and the dreadful 
incident had an insupportably depressing effect on me. A 
melancholy New Year’s Day indeed ! 
Shebane had been my “ boy ” for two years, having accom¬ 
panied me in that capacity on both my journeys into this 
region. He had learnt my ways and was a good and cheerful 
servant, so that it can be understood how much I missed him. 
I now learnt that it was no uncommon thing here for a native 
to be taken off the banks by these loathsome reptiles, and a 
man was actually so taken while we were in Kere. 
The next morning Labugo came to see me, but brought 
no interpreter, so we could do little but look at each other. 
My first impression of him is thus described in my diary :— 
“ He is a very tall man ; does not seem intelligent, no expres¬ 
sion, looks neither pleasant nor surly, merely apathetic.” There 
was nothing chiefly about his bearing, nor did his people seem 
to regard him with awe nor treat him with much respect. He 
