A CANOE VOYAGE. 
105 
these creatures and destroying them, as they 
often do on account of the ravages they commit. 
A ball of dried flax is covered with a thin layer 
of beef. This is dropped into the water near the 
lair of the crocodile. In due course the bait is 
swallowed, the flax expands with the water in 
the stomach of the beast, and he is effectually 
suffocated. His carcass is then drawn to land, 
amid universal rejoicing, and treated with the 
greatest contempt, and then consumed by fire. 
To the vast herds of oxen which are continually 
being brought down to the coast for deportation, 
these reptiles are a frequent source of annoyance 
and loss. The natives are also often seized and 
taken down by the wary brutes, if they are 
foolish enough to wade into the rivers, as they 
often do, in search of fish. A few years ago a 
valuable horse, which was being taken up the 
country for the use of the prime minister, was 
caught by a crocodile in one of the streams on 
the way to the capital, and dragged under water 
and killed. 
In journeying along the coast a halt is usually 
made each day just before noon, and the crew, 
after having drawn up the boat under the shade 
of a tree by the water-side, proceed to prepare 
their first meal. Their passenger has, however, 
partaken in the early morning, if he is wise, of a 
cup of good strong coffee, with the smallest par- 
