er of fish. It is
a stout-bodied fish, about fifteen or eighteen inches long, of a light
yellow color, and gayly ornamented with stripes and spots. It has a
most imposing array of sharp, conical teeth outside the lips--objects
of dread to the fisherman, for it can use them effectually. One which
we picked up dead had killed itself by swallowing another fish, which,
though too large for its stomach and throat, could not be disgorged.

This fish-hawk generally kills more prey than it can devour. It eats a
portion of the back of the fish, and leaves the rest for the Barotse,
who often had a race across the river when they saw an abandoned morsel
lying on the opposite sand-banks. The hawk is, however, not always so
generous, for, as I myself was a witness on the Zouga, it sometimes
plunders the purse of the pelican. Soaring over head, and seeing this
large, stupid bird fishing beneath, it watches till a fine fish is safe
in the pelican's pouch; then descending, not very quickly, but with
considerable noise of wing, the pelican looks up to see what is the
matter, and, as the hawk comes near, he supposes that he is about to
be killed, and roars out "Murder!" The opening of his mouth enables the
hawk to whisk the fish out of the pouch, upon which the pelican does not
fly away, but commences fishing again, the fright having probably made
him forget he had any thing in his purse.

A fish called mosheba, about the size of a minnow, often skims along the
surface for several yards, in order to get out of the way of the canoe.
It uses the pectoral fins, as the flying-fish do, but never makes a
clean flight. It is rather a succession of hops along the surface, made
by the aid of the side fins. It never becomes large.

Numbers of iguanos (mpulu) sit sunning themselves on overhanging
branches of the trees, and splash into the water as we approach. They
are highly esteemed as an article of food, the flesh being tender and
gelatinous. The chief boatman, who occupies the stem, has in consequence
a light javelin always at hand to spear them if they are not quickly out
of sight. These, and large alligators gliding in from the banks with
a heavy plunge as we come round a sudden bend of the stream, were the
occurrences of every hour as we sped up the river.

The rapids in the part of the river between Katima-molelo and Nameta
are relieved by several reaches of still, deep water, fifteen or twenty
miles long. In these very large herds of hi