256 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CIIAP. 



prized by the Arabs in the Soudan, where crocodile-hunting is 

 pursued as a profession, and the four glands of an average-sized 

 specimen are worth 30s. ; those of a very large male would be 

 valued in proportion. The Soudanese women string the musk-glands 

 upon a necklace, together with other beads ; when dried they are 

 about the size of a small nutmeg. I have frequently inquired of 

 the natives throughout India, but they are entirely ignorant of the 

 existence of musk-glands in the crocodile. The scent is remark- 

 ably strong, and I have frequently been attracted by the odour 

 when, in a vessel passing down the White Nile, we had been 

 forewanied of the basking-place upon the bank, before we had come 

 in sight of the reptile. It is usually considered by the natives that 

 the female is attracted to the spot by the musky exudation from 

 the male. Although the female possesses an equal number of 

 musk-glands, they are smaller, and not so powerful. 



The crocodile is harpooned by the Arabs precisely in the same 

 manner as the hippopotamus, with the exception that, instead of 

 being struck when floating upon the surface, the hunters swim 

 under cover of the bank when they have descried a crocodile 

 asleep upon a bed of sand ; the harpoon is then cast, and as the 

 crocodile immediately plunges into the river, the hunters with 

 equal agility jump out. In many portions of the Soudan the 

 hunters are armed with rifles, but the harpoon in dexterous hands 

 is more effective, as the creature seldom escapes. Great numbers 

 of crocodiles may be shot, but very few in proportion are actually 

 secured, as the body sinks immediately in deep water ; and, unlike 

 the hippopotamus, it will not rise to the surface for several days, 

 until decomposition shall have set in, and the belly has become 

 inflated with foul gas. 



Within the last few years the hide of the crocodile has been 

 generally used for the manufacture of travelling bags and various 

 lighter articles. It is to be hoped that the increased demand may 

 have the effect of reducing the numbers of these reptiles, which 

 are a terrible scourge to every country which they infest. Person- 

 ally I have studiously avoided a swim in any water inhabited by 

 crocodiles, but it is astonishing to see the risks that are continually 

 incurred by Arabs, whose faith in some special charm, received 

 from a faky or priest, is sufficient to induce them to brave all 

 dangers, and to defy the fate which so frequently befalls them. 

 There is no possibility of escape should a person be seized in the 

 water, although the crocodile might be of a small size ; he would 

 assuredly be dragged beneath the surface. 



If the creature should be of large size, the force of the snapping 



