144 TH E WILDERNESS AND JUNGLE 



ever again so much as putting* his toe in a tank 

 where he had been served in such fashion, yet 

 with the terrier, at any rate, there was no 

 question of once bit, twice shy. Crocodiles do 

 not, as some writers seem to imagine, object 

 to salt water, for they are at times only too 

 common on the coast of Penang, and have 

 more than once seized bathers in the sea. 



Crocodiles and alligators show extraordinary 

 boldness in many Indian tanks and rivers, 

 probably because, being held sacred, they get 

 a very poor idea of human beings. Now, 

 sharks, on the other hand, rarely, if ever, attack 

 a party of swimmers bathing and splashing 

 together. It is the solitary swimmer only who 

 runs serious risk from these monsters. In 

 more than one tropical sea I have bathed in 

 company, with the fins of large sharks cleaving 

 the surface just outside the reef. I do not pre- 

 tend that I liked it, but none of the others 

 seemed to mind, and it was no good making a 

 fuss. Moreover, the weather was hot, and the 

 water was cool, so there were temptations. 

 Such liberties must not, however, be taken 

 with alligators. Not very long ago, the native 

 crew of a liner anchored in the Hooghly were 

 swimming round the ship, when suddenly an 

 officer on deck noticed a huge mugger paddling 

 silently up to them, its long snout showing just 

 above the surface. Next instant the brute shot 



