a
small quantity only of lime in their composition.

We had some difficulty in inducing our friends to believe the account we
gave them of Igubo's exploit. He however undertook, if they were not
satisfied, to kill a crocodile in the same way another day.

"Oh! pray tell him not to make the attempt!" exclaimed Kate. "It is far
too perilous; and though he may succeed once or twice, some day another
crocodile may come in support of its companion and carry him off."

Igubo only laughed when this was said to him. He had killed crocodiles
in that way since he was a boy, and there was no reason why he should
not do so as long as he was able to swim.

While speaking of crocodiles, I should observe that the family of huge
saurians, to which the monsters belong, is divided into three genera:
_Alligator_ is peculiar to America; _Crocodilus_ is common both to the
Old and New World; while a third, _Gavialis_, is found in the Ganges and
other rivers on the continent of India. They differ in appearance from
each other, but their habits in most respects are similar. The true
crocodile, however, frequents occasionally the mouths of large rivers
where the salt water enters, and it has been known to swim between
different islands at considerable distances from each other. I believe
that at the commencement of my journal I have sometimes inadvertently
written alligator instead of crocodile, when speaking of the monsters we
encountered so frequently.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

STANLEY GAINS CREDIT AMONG THE NATIVES AS A LION-KILLER.

Again during the night the roar of the lion was heard. It put Stanley
in a perfect fever; but David persuaded him not to go out and attempt to
shoot the creature, as he was completely knocked up by the exertion of
the previous days. The rest of us employed our time in collecting the
prickly-pear for fortifying our post, as David had proposed. It was no
easy matter, however, to cut the plants down.

"If we were to throw a rope over them, and draw the leaves on one side,
we might do it," said Natty. "A good suggestion," I observed.

We carried it out. While the grown-up members of the party cut down the
armed plants, the boys with ropes dragged them in large bundles up to
the camp, round which we began to form with them a broad belt. It was
hard work; but as there were numerous plants growing about, we had not
far to go. We were encouraged to persevere by the assurance that our
fortress would