THE CROCODILE THE ALLIGATOR. 335 



noises, attracted attention to the spot, when it was discovered 

 that the eggs had become hatched and the young crocodiles 

 were quite ready to assume the responsibilities of life. The 

 natives fled in terror, and the merchant had to take speedy 

 measures for destroying his unexpected brood. Some species 

 of the crocodile have been tamed or partially so, the sacred 

 crocodiles being among these. Accustomed to be fed regularly 

 by the same hands they gradually become familiar with their 

 priestly attendants, and .to some extent obedient to their 

 commands. Mungo Park says: "The crocodiles of the 

 Congo appear to be of a smaller species, and not so numerous 

 as those at Old Calabar, where they continually float past the 

 shipping like large grey pieces of timber, and are so bold 

 that they frequently seize people in the small canoes. In 

 Old Calabar river, I once observed a crocodile swimming 

 with a large cat-fish in its mouth to the opposite shore. It 

 held the fish by the head, whilst the body was thrown into 

 a perpendicular position. I watched it with the spy-glass 

 until it had dragged the fish upon the mud bank, and 

 commenced its meal." 



The Alligator. The Alligator of which there are some ten 

 or twelve species known,' is found exclusively in America. The 

 Mississippi Alligator is one of the most familiar of these. 

 The Alligator is smaller than the crocodile, which it much 

 resembles in form and habit, though specimens have been 

 met with which measure twenty-two feet in length. The 

 Alligator is naturally most abundant in tropical regions. 

 Captain Brown says : " In the height of the dry season in 

 torrid regions all animated nature pants with consuming 

 thirst. A party of wood cutters, English and Irish, went 

 on one occasion to hunt in the neighbourhood of a lake 

 called Pies Pond in Beef Island, one of the smaller islands 

 of the Bay of Campeachy. To this pond the wild cattle 

 repaired in herds to drink, and here the hunters lay in wait 

 for them. The chase had been prosecuted with great success 



