When Alarmed, It Hurries Across The
Surface Of The Water In A Series Of Leaps.
It may be considered
amphibious, as it lives as much out of the water as in it, and its
most busy time is during low water.
Then it appears on the sand or
mud, near the little pools left by the retiring tide; it raises
itself on its pectoral fins into something of a standing attitude,
and with its large projecting eyes keeps a sharp look-out for the
light-coloured fly, on which it feeds. Should the fly alight at too
great a distance for even a second leap, the blenny moves slowly
towards it like a cat to its prey, or like a jumping spider; and, as
soon as it gets within two or three inches of the insect, by a sudden
spring contrives to pop its underset mouth directly over the unlucky
victim. He is, moreover, a pugnacious little fellow; and rather
prolonged fights may be observed between him and his brethren. One,
in fleeing from an apparent danger, jumped into a pool a foot square,
which the other evidently regarded as his by right of prior
discovery; in a twinkling the owner, with eyes flashing fury, and
with dorsal fin bristling up in rage, dashed at the intruding foe.
The fight waxed furious, no tempest in a teapot ever equalled the
storm of that miniature sea. The warriors were now in the water, and
anon out of it, for the battle raged on sea and shore. They struck
hard, they bit each other; until, becoming exhausted, they seized
each other by the jaws like two bull-dogs, then paused for breath,
and at it again as fiercely as before, until the combat ended by the
precipitate retreat of the invader.
The muddy ground under the mangrove-trees is covered with soldier-
crabs, which quickly slink into their holes on any symptom of danger.
When the ebbing tide retires, myriads of minute crabs emerge from
their underground quarters, and begin to work like so many busy bees.
Soon many miles of the smooth sand become rough with the results of
their labour. They are toiling for their daily bread: a round bit
of moist sand appears at the little labourer's mouth, and is quickly
brushed off by one of the claws; a second bit follows the first; and
another, and still another come as fast as they can be laid aside.
As these pellets accumulate, the crab moves sideways, and the work
continues. The first impression one receives is, that the little
creature has swallowed a great deal of sand, and is getting rid of it
as speedily as possible: a habit he indulges in of darting into his
hole at intervals, as if for fresh supplies, tends to strengthen this
idea; but the size of the heaps formed in a few seconds shows that
this cannot be the case, and leads to the impression that, although
not readily seen, at the distance at which he chooses to keep the
observer, yet that possibly he raises the sand to his mouth, where
whatever animalcule it may contain is sifted out of it, and the
remainder rejected in the manner described. At times the larger
species of crabs perform a sort of concert; and from each
subterranean abode strange sounds arise, as if, in imitation of the
songsters of the groves, for very joy they sang!
We found some natives pounding the woody stems of a poisonous
climbing-plant (Dirca palustris) called Busungu, or poison, which
grows abundantly in the swamps. When a good quantity was bruised, it
was tied up in bundles. The stream above and below was obstructed
with bushes, and with a sort of rinsing motion the poison was
diffused through the water. Many fish were soon affected, swain in
shore, and died, others were only stupefied. The plant has pink,
pea-shaped blossoms, and smooth, pointed, glossy leaves, and the
brown bark is covered with minute white points. The knowledge of it
might prove of use to a shipwrecked party by enabling them to catch
the fish.
The poison is said to be deleterious to man if the water is drunk;
but not when the fish is cooked. The Busungu is repulsive to some
insects, and is smeared round the shoots of the palm-trees to prevent
the ants from getting into the palm wine while it is dropping from
the tops of the palm-trees into the little pots suspended to collect
it.
We were in the habit of walking from our beds into the salt water at
sunrise, for a bath, till a large crocodile appeared at the bathing-
place, and from that time forth we took our dip in the sea, away from
the harbour, about midday. This is said to be unwholesome, but we
did not find it so. It is certainly better not to bathe in the
mornings, when the air is colder than the water - for then, on
returning to the cooler air, one is apt to get a chill and fever. In
the mouth of the river, many saw-fish are found. Rowe saw one while
bathing - caught it by the tail, and shoved it, "snout on," ashore.
The saw is from a foot to eighteen inches long. We never heard of
any one being wounded by this fish; nor, though it goes hundreds of
miles up the river in fresh water, could we learn that it was eaten
by the people. The hippopotami delighted to spend the day among the
breakers, and seemed to enjoy the fun as much as we did.
Severe gales occurred during our stay on the Coast, and many small
sea-birds (Prion Banksii, Smith) perished: the beach was strewn with
their dead bodies, and some were found hundreds of yards inland; many
were so emaciated as to dry up without putrefying. We were plagued
with myriads of mosquitoes, and had some touches of fever; the men we
brought from malarious regions of the interior suffered almost as
much from it here as we did ourselves.
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