Thus arranged, a man sits
upon its back, while one or two swim by the side as guides. The
current of the Atbara runs at a rapid rate; thus the camel is
generally carried at least half a mile down the river before it
can gain the opposite bank. A few days before our arrival, a man
had been snatched from the back of his camel while crossing, and
was carried off by a crocodile. Another man had been taken during
the last week while swimming the river upon a log. It was
supposed that these accidents were due to the same crocodile, who
was accustomed to bask upon a mud bank at the foot of the cotton
plantation. On the day following our arrival at the Atbara, we
found that our camel-drivers had absconded during the night with
their camels; these were the men who had been forced to serve by
the Governor of Cassala. There was no possibility of proceeding
for some days, therefore I sent El Baggar across the river to
endeavour to engage camels, while I devoted myself to a search
for the crocodile. I shortly discovered that it was unfair in the
extreme to charge one particular animal with the death of the two
Arabs, as several large crocodiles were lying upon the mud in
various places.
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