The Fur Animals of Louisiana 171 



"I'll not contradict the venerable antiquities on what it 

 teaches us of the crocodiles of the Nile who throw themselves 

 upon mankind and devour him, who leave a slime along their 

 path to the water so as to make the passerby fall and slip into 

 the river, and who imitate a child's voice to attract and trap 

 them. I'll neither say a word against the travelers who, sure 

 of hearsay, have confirmed these stories, but as I profess to tell 

 the truth and advance nothing of which I am not certain, I may 

 affirm that the crocodiles of Louisiana are without doubt a dif- 

 ferent species from those of other regions. In fact, I have never 

 heard one imitate the cry of a child. Their voice is as loud as 

 that of a bull. 



"It is true that they attack men in the water, but never on 

 land, where they are harmless. I gave a convincing example 

 in the first part when I mentioned the one killed by my slave 

 which was 5 feet long. I also spoke of the manner in which I 

 killed the one 19 feet long. Furthermore, there are nations 

 (Indians) who do not fear this animal, the children kill them and 

 their mothers and fathers go to get them. What can be believed 

 of what is said of the crocodiles? Besides, I killed as many as I 

 met and they are little to be feared, as they cannot run nor rise 

 against man. 



"The slimy path spoken of is nothing more than the slippery 

 track which they make to and from the river. They are, as I 

 have said, only dangerous in the water, where they are very 

 active." 



The Difference Between Alligators and Crocodiles 



To anticipate an obvious question, "What is the differ- 

 ence between an alligator and a crocodile?" it may be stated 

 that there is, perhaps, no absolute distinction between the 

 groups but that the two are easily distinguished by the 

 outline of the head ; the alligator has a broad, rounded 

 snout, while that of the crocodile is narrowed and more 

 pointed. According to Raymond L. Ditmars, curator of 

 reptiles of the New York Zoological Park (to whom I am 

 indebted for a great deal of my information regarding the 

 scientific position of the alligator), the crocodile has in 

 addition to the differences already pointed out, as a rule, 

 larger and more exposed teeth than the alligator and is 

 usually quicker, more active and more vicious than the 

 denizen of our swamps. 



A popular theory, not borne out by facts, however, is 

 that only the upper jaw of the crocodile is hinged, while 

 the alligator can only work its lower jaw. This is not true. 

 The most reliable method of identification is by the teeth — 



