2382 CROCODILES, DINOSAURS, AND FLYING DRAGONS 



A remarkable instance of boldness and ferocity displayed by a crocodile of this- 

 species is narrated by a correspondent of the Times during a journey to Mashona- 

 land. On arriving one evening at the banks of the narrow but rocky Tokvvi river, 

 a man named Williams rode in with the intention of crossing. During the passage 

 his horse was carried by the stream a few yards below the landing place, and just as 

 he reached the opposite bank he was seized by the leg by a crocodile, which 



SHARP-NOSED CROCODILE. 



(One- thirtieth natural size.) 



dragged him from his horse into the stream. There the reptile let go its hold, upon 

 which the man managed to crawl on to a small island. Immediately his companion f 

 rode in to his assistance, upon which another very large crocodile mounted up be- 

 tween him and the horse's neck, and then slipped back, making a dreadful wound 

 on his side and in the horse's neck with its claws as it did so. The river seemed, 

 indeed, to be absolutely swarming with crocodiles; and it was with the greatest diffi- 



