34^ Miscellaneous. CHAP. xxv. 



of garial, is almost always spoken of in Europe as the gavial, while its 

 misspelt name has even been latinized into Gavialis." 



Do not deem crocodiles to be unmitigated evils. They have 

 redeeming points like the rest of us. I have found in the stomach of 

 one, beetles which eat spawn, tortoises which eat fry, otters which eat 

 fish, besides fish which it had taken itself. Doubtless their chief use is 

 to keep down the larger predatory fish till man comes in and dispenses 

 with their services. 



Have you ever had a porpoise in a boat or net ? He is like a bull 

 in a 'china shop, is difficult to kill, and will stand a good deal of 

 cudgelling. The natives have a very simple way of disposing of him.. 

 They just plug up the blow-hole with a lump of clay, and he is soon 

 suffocated. 



I once had a young whale on shore. What brought her ashore, 

 whether mistake, or fright of enemies, I know not. She was in full 

 health and vigour. We got hold of every rope and every man we 

 could muster, and tried to pull her further up, but we might as well 

 have pulled at Regent Street. Ropes broke like pack-thread, and the 

 tail, pardon me, the flukes, kept banging on the rising tide, and making 

 reports like a pistol. Men produced knives and made great incisions 

 in the poor thing's sides, so that the whole arm passed in after the knife 

 right up to the shoulder. Every wave that came up went back dyed 

 with blood. But to no purpose, the tide was gaining on us faster than 

 the whale would die. It was clear she would soon have water enough 

 to float her, and then she would laugh us all to scorn. The above- 

 mentioned way of killing porpoises occurred to me. Sea-sand was the 

 only thing available. I took up handful after handful, and reached up 

 and poured them into the blow-hole faster than she could blow them out. 

 The effect was very rapid, and the approaching tide, instead of helping 

 her, helped us to get her huge carcase higher up the shelving shore, 

 and secure. 



Have you ever been in a boat that leaks in the bows, or in any 

 particular spot, and noticed the ready means by which the native 

 boatmen confine the leak to its own locality, and thereby keep the 

 rest of the boat dry, till such time as they can conveniently get it 

 caulked. Just fore and aft of the leak they run up a little wall of 

 dabbled clay as high as the water-mark. The consequence is that the 

 leak cannot spread. If you want a well for live bait it is easy to apply 



