178 IN THE SWAMPS 



The Malays had a more certain way of securing 

 the quarry. Their means was a bamboo raft, two 

 and a half feet square which carried an upright 

 two-foot pole flying a small bit of rag. To the 

 under side of the raft was attached about fifteen to 

 twenty yards of stout line, ending in three feet 

 of chain, a couple of feet of wire, and a stout 

 barbed hook, to which was made fast a live fowl 

 and a small section of hollow bamboo to counter- 

 balance the weight of the chain and float the bait. 

 Set adrift in the river, it was not long, as a rule, 

 before a squawk and a splash announced the bait 

 taken. Violent agitation of the raft followed 

 upon the disappearance of the fowl ; sometimes it 

 momentarily disappeared from view as the hooked 

 amphibian went ahead full steam, but always the 

 little flag came bedraggled to the surface, and after 

 a while remained stationary as the crocodile stayed 

 his progress in an effort to disentangle himself 

 from the bait. By this time the hook had taken 

 firm hold, and it became simply a question of put- 

 ting a boy on the bank or on a canoe to watch the 

 flag on the raft. By and by at their leisure the 

 Malays would haul the crocodile ashore and mur- 

 der it. Aboo Din seemed an artist in this method 

 of catching crocodile, and always two or three of 

 his flags fluttered on the river. Except for the 

 satisfaction of killing the dangerous things, I can 



