36 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
It was almost certain that the fish caught nightly 
in our trammel-nets would be taken by crocodiles ; 
and, not content with an endeavour to abstract them, 
they tore the net into large holes with teeth and 
claws, in their determination to possess them. 
The most dangerous time for a man to enter a 
river is just before or after sunset, as the fish 
invariably visit the shallows during evening; the 
crocodiles follow them, and they may frequently 
be seen at that hour dashing like huge pike most 
furiously at the larger varieties, which sometimes 
jump to a great height out of the water, in an 
attempt to evade their pursuers. 
When I was in command of the Khedive’s 
expedition, our losses through crocodiles were 
very distressing, all of which were terrible ex¬ 
amples of the ferocity, combined with cunning, 
which characterises this useless scourge. On one 
occasion the vessels were sailing up the White 
Nile with a strong north wind, making at least 
7 knots an hour; one of the cavasses was sitting 
upon the deck, with his legs dangling over the 
sides of the deeply laden vessel, his feet being 
half a yard above the water. Suddenly a rush was 
made by a very large crocodile, and the man was 
seized and carried off in a shorter time than it 
would take to announce the fact. This was done 
in the presence of a hundred men on board the 
vessel, and nothing was ever heard of the unfor¬ 
tunate cavass. 
On another occasion one of the sailors was sitting 
