466 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



and the love of whiskey, bring all the scanty neighborhood 

 round a new comer, to aid him in cutting down trees, and 

 in rolling up the logs, till the mansion is complete. This was 

 done : the wife and five young children were put in possession 

 of their new home, and slept soundly after a long march. 

 Towards daybreak, the husband and father was awakened by 

 a faint cry, and looking up, beheld the relics of three of his 

 children scattered over the floor, and an enormous crocodile, 

 with several young ones round her, occupied in devouring 

 remnants of their horrid meal. He looked for a weapon, but 

 finding none, and aware that unarmed he could do nothing, he 

 raised himself gently on his bed, and contrived to crawl from 

 thence through a window, hoping that his wife, whom he left 

 sleeping, might with the remaining children, rest undiscovered 

 till his return. He flew to his nearest neighbor, and besought 

 his aid : in less than a half an hour, two men returned with 

 him, all three well armed ; but, alas ! they were too late ; the 

 wife and her two babes lay mangled on their bloody bed. 

 The gorged reptiles fell an easy prey to their assailants ; who, 

 upon examining the place, found that the hut had been con- 

 structed close to the mouth of a large hole almost a cavern, 

 where the monster had hatched her hateful brood." 



It will be obsereed that in this account Mrs. Trollope con- 

 founds the alligator with the crocodile. 



What is most remarkable in the crocodile is, that it is 

 covered with hard and thick shelly plates, not very regular 

 in their shape, but fitted to each other. On the under parts 

 of the body these are much softer, so as to be easily pierced 

 with a knife, but on the back and sides they are so hard, that 

 it is said a ball from a good gun will not penetrate them. 

 This shelly covering gives a stiffness to the animal, which 

 prevents its turning very easily, so that the best way to escape, 

 if pursued by one is to make as many turns as possible. 



