THE SrORY OF THE CROCODILE. 



317 



had secured the unfortunate victim was in his turn attacked by hungry 

 crocodiles, and a fierce fight resuUed. 



One native, who was smoking at the side of the river, was seized by the 

 hand by a crocodile, and would have been dragged in and devoured had he 

 not very quickly caught hold of a tree which grew upon the bank, and clung 

 with such tenacity that the reptile had to abandon his captive, leaving the 

 deep dent of his jaws on his arm. 



In the Upper Nile the favorite haunts of the crocodiles are sandbanks, 

 situated in parts of the river where the current is not too strong. There 

 they may be seen at all hours of the day sleeping with widely opened mouths, 

 in and out of which the black-backed plover walks with the utmost uncon- 



GANGES CROCODILE DEVOURING A CHILD. 



cern. According to Arab accounts, one and the same crocodile has been 

 known to haunt a single sandbank throughout the term of a man's life; 

 thus leading to the conclusion that these creatures must enjoy a long term 

 of existence, during the whole of which they continue, like other reptiles, 

 to increase in size. In common with this feature of uninterrupted growth, 

 all crocodiles are also distinguished by their remarkable tenacity of life; the 

 shots that prove instantaneously fatal being those that take effect either in 

 the brain itself or in the spinal cord of the neck. It is true, indeed, that a shot 

 through the shoulder will ultimately cause death; but it allows time for 

 the animal to escape into the water, where its body immediately sinks. To 



