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" He had so frM|ii.-ntly crossed the stream Mow his hutu at nil tim-- of day, and had Men 

 Crocodiles of small dimensions, that )M> had become, as it were, famili.iri/j-d i.. them, and did 

 not iiiKigiin- that there waa any danger to be expected from th.-m. One evening, at about sun- 

 down. In- wa.s wading across the riv.-r, th- wat.-r ..f which n>a. h.-d alx>ve his waist Suddenly 

 h.- f.-lt himself ached by the nnd.-r part ..f his thi^h. whilst he was at the same instant dragged 

 under water. His wife waa following him, and seeing him full, she scram Ned fnnvani to th- 

 place where he had disappeared, and thus caused conridcnil.l. noitte and Hplashing, which (or 

 .sotn. -thing else, perhaps the tonirhneas and had flavor of th<- Katun had the f making 



the Crocodile quit his hold .n th- Katlir, not. however, without tearing off a gtv.it jMiriioii of 

 the under part of his thigh. The man, with difficulty, escaped to the shore, but be remained 

 a i-ripplr for life, unable to do more than put th>- t<-s of hi- foot on the ground." 







MABOUUB CaOOODIIJL-CkwriHMMrffcMlM. 



WB now come to the ALLIGATORS, the second family of those huge reptiles which may be 

 known, as has already been mentioned, by the lower canine teeth fitting into pits in the upper 

 jaw. They are divided into three genera, all of which are inhabitants of the New World. 

 They are indiscriminately called Alligators, Crocodiles, or Caymans, by the natives or the non- 

 loological traveller, and there is consequently much difficulty i identifying the particular 

 species. The genus Alligator may be known by the partly-webbed tons, the outer toe being 



The COMMON ALLIGATOR inhabits Northern America, and is plentifully found in the 

 Mi i--ippi . ih" lak'- and (iffVH of LlMWU < Hd ( ^"iin i. BBd atafltt lOOaUttH '' i- '> II--P-.- 



and dangerous reptile, in many of its habits hearing a close resemblance to the crocodiles, and 

 the other members of the family. 



I'nlike the crocodile, however, it avoids the salt water, and is hut Morn seen even near 

 the mouths of rivers, where the tide gives a brackish taste to their waters. It is mostly a fish- 

 eater, haunting those portions of the rivers where its prey most abounds, and catching them 

 by diving under a passing shoal, snapping up one or two victims as it passes through them. 

 tossing them in the air for the purpose of ejecting the water which has necessarily till.- 1 it.* 

 mouth, catching them adroitly as they fall, and then swallowing them. Though timid. asar 



