ed alongside the monkey, with the end of the rope secured
to the middle of it. The canoe shortly paddled away down the stream,
greatly to our satisfaction; for we were afraid she might have come near
us, when the consequences might have been disagreeable. The poor dog
howled for some time, and the dead monkey floated on the surface of the
water, till our attention was attracted by an object coming down the
stream towards us. As it approached, we perceived the long snout and
black scaly back of a huge crocodile. The monster eyed us, as we
thought, with a malicious look, as if he contemplated attacking us, and,
from his appearance, we judged that he would have made one hearty meal
of us all, and perhaps swallowed up the canoe into the bargain. To
prepare for him, I grasped Blount's rifle, with the intention of
shooting him through the eye, should he begin to molest us; but, of
course, I would only have fired in a case of extreme necessity. Either
he had not noticed us, or he thought he would first swallow the monkey,
which was all ready for him, and then come back and have a nibble at us;
so, to our satisfaction, away he swam across the river. He first rubbed
his nose against the monkey to smell it, and then began sucking away
very leisurely, thus to enjoy the morsel to the utmost. When he had got
it down, he swam on a little, and that gave a jerk to the rope, which
pulled the stick across his inside, so that by no possibility could it
come out again. This seemed to inconvenience him excessively, for he
plunged under the water, and then swam across from one side of the river
to the other, the rattan at the end of the rope always showing his
whereabouts. As he swam about, he approached disagreeably near to us,
and we were not a little afraid that a whisk of his tail might stave in
our canoe. Fortunately, he again turned, and he did not seem to wish to
eat, the stick in his inside having probably spoiled his appetite. At
last, when he found it was impossible to get free from this inconvenient
ornament in the water, he scrambled on shore, where he lay hid among the
reeds, not far from the spot where he had swallowed the bait, the
rattan, which remained in the water, pointing out his position. In
about an hour the canoe returned, accompanied by three others, with an
equal number of men in each. They first got hold of the rattan, and
then, landing, they gently drew him forth from his hiding-place. He
offered no re