where the hair is worn off by contact with hard substances in sleeping, were different from the bare places which are so conspicuous on the chimpanzee.

There is a yet greater difference between this animal and the gorilla. It is not nearly so powerful as that monster. Its chest is of far less capacity; its muscular development is not on the same prodigious scale; its arm is much longer; and the fingers of the gorilla are not only shorter, but also much more powerful than those of the milder nshiego. There is also a similar difference in the fingers of the feet. The largest nshiego I shot measured a few inches over four feet in height, and its spread of arms was quite seven feet.

The hair of the nshiego is blacker, longer, and glossier than that of the gorilla. The latter has his head covered with hair, while the former is bald, both male and female. The nose of the nshiego is not so prominent as the gorilla's; the mouth is wider; the ears are much larger; the chin is rounder than that of the gorilla, and has some thin short hairs on it. The posteriors of the nshiego are bare, and there the skin is white. The eyebrows of the nshiego are of thin black hair, but long. The side of the face is thinly covered with hair, commencing about the middle of the

ear.

I sent my prize into the olako, and on our way back we had the good luck to kill another. This was a very old animal, with venerable aspect, silvery hair, and decayed teeth. It measured 4 feet 4 inches. Its weight was so considerable that, to carry it, we had to take out its intestines. I found in the stomach only some leaves. On my return to the olako I stuffed my two prizes, ready to send home.

On the 9th we had a great crocodile-hunt. The people were very glad, as they seem extravagantly fond of the meat. They kill more or less every day at this village, and so at the others; but the negroes are so lazy that they were glad to have me go and save them the trouble. The crocodile has not much meat on him, so that, though some were killed every day, the village was never sufficiently supplied.

We went in canoes. These canoes are of a very singular construction; quite flat-bottomed, very light draught, about fifty feet long, and not more than two broad. They are ticklish craft. The oarsmen stand up and use paddles seven feet long, with which S

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NATIVE CANOES AND HARPOONS.

they can propel one of these boats at a very good rate. The canoes are, of course, easily capsized-the gunwale being but a few. inches above the water; but they do not often tip over. What surprised me most was the way the negro paddlers stood up at their work all day without tiring.

The negroes hunt the crocodile both with guns and a kind of harpoon. They have very poor guns, and powder is a scarce article with them; so the harpoon is most used. The vulnerable part of the animal is near the joints of his fore legs, and there they endeavor to wound it. Though so many are killed, they do not decrease in numbers, nor, strange enough, do they seem to grow more wary. As we started out we saw them swimming about in all directions, and lying on the mud-banks sunning themselves. They took no notice of our boat at all. As we were to shoot, we were obliged to look for our prizes on the shore, for, if killed in the water, they sink and are lost. Presently we saw an immense fellow extended on the bank among some reeds. We approached cautiously; I took good aim, and knocked him over. He struggled hard to get to the water, but had been hit too surely. His strength gave out ere he could reach it, and, with a few final kicks, he was dead. We got one more, and then they brought another canoe along, and, capsizing it along the shore, rolled the dead monsters in and paddled off for the village. One measured eighteen and the other twenty feet in length. I never saw more savagelooking jaws. They were armed with most formidable rows of teeth, and looked really as though a man would be a mere bite for them.

During the heat of the day these animals retire to the reeds, where they lie sheltered. In the morning and late afternoon they come forth to seek their prey. They swim with great silence, making scarce even a ripple on the water, and make pretty good progress through the water. The motion of the paws in swimming is like that of a dog, over and over. They can stand quite still on top of the water, when they may be seen looking about them with their dull, wicked eyes. They sleep in the reeds, not for long in the same place. Their eggs they lay in the sand on the islands in the lake, covering them over with a layer of sand. The great abundance of fish in the lake makes them increase so fast as they do. The negroes seemed rather indifferent to their presence, and certainly did not view them with the loathing and horror they inspired in me.

HABITS OF THE OGATA.

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On the 11th I went on a hunt, but killed only a mkago—a beautiful little monkey, whose head is crowned with a fillet of bright red hair. They are in great numbers in these woods. Coming home, I found near the water the hole or burrow of an ogata. This is a species of cayman which lives near pools, and makes a long hole in the ground with two entrances, in which it sleeps and watches for prey. The ogata is a night-roving animal, and solitary in its habits. It scrapes this hole with its paws with considerable labor. It lives near a pool for the double reason, I imagine, that it may bathe, and because thither come deer, for whom it lies in wait in its hole. The negroes tell me that they rush out with great speed upon any wandering animal, and drag it into the hole to eat it. When they discover one of these holes they come with their guns-which are generally loaded with iron spikes and watch at one end, while a fire is built at the other entrance. When it becomes too hot, the ogata rushes out and is shot. I killed one, which proved to be seven feet long. It had great strength in its jaws, and very formidable teeth. Like the crocodile, its upper jaw is articulated, and is raised when the mouth is opened.

On the 13th I bought a few sticks of ebony, and one of the men brought me a piece of izomba meat. The izomba is a turtle. The meat is excellent; and when I inquired about the animal, I found reason to believe it a new species. The best way to take it is to watch for it on some of the islands in the lake, whither it goes to lay its eggs by night. I went out in a boat the same night, and we were so lucky as to turn one great turtle just as she was done laying. She had noticed us, silent as our approach was, and had nearly escaped. I found to my joy next morning that it was really a new species.

On the 14th I gave Shimbouvenegani two pieces of cotton cloth, some tobacco, and beads, and returned to Damagondai's town. Here I found a canoe from King Ranpano, to say that a vessel was on the coast by which I could send things to America if I wished. I determined to go down immediately and send some specimens off.

On our return to Damagondai's town, as we were paddling along, I perceived in the distance ahead a beautiful deer, looking meditatively into the waters of the lagoon, of which from time to time it took a drink. I stood up to get a shot, and we approach