898 



HISTORY OF FROGS, LIZARDS, AND SERPENTS. 



undisturbed by frequent encounters with man- 

 kind. 1 In this state it is tierce and cruel, attack- 

 ing every object that seems endued with mo- 

 tion : but in Egypt, and other countries long peo- 

 pled, where the inhabitants are civilized, and 

 the rivers frequented, this animal is solitary and 

 fearful. So far from coming to attack a man, 

 it sinks at his approach with the utmost pre- 

 cipitation ; and, as if sensible of superior 

 power, ever declines the engagement. We 

 have seen more than one instance in animated 

 nature of the contempt which at first the lower 

 orders of the creation have for man, till they 

 have experienced his powers of destruction. 

 The lion and the tiger among beasts, the 

 whale among fishes, the albatross and the pen- 

 guin among birds, meet the first encounters of 

 man without dread or apprehension ; but they 

 soon learn to acknowledge his superiority, and 

 take refuge from his power in the deepest fast- 

 nesses of nature. This may account for the 

 different characters which have been given us 

 of the crocodile and the alligator, by travellers 

 at different times ; some describing them as 

 harmless and fearful, as ever avoiding the 

 sight of a man, and preying only upon fishes: 

 others ranking them among the destroyers of 

 nature; describing them as furnished with 

 strength, and impelled by malignity, to do 

 mischief ; representing them as the greatest 

 enemies of mankind, and particularly desirous 

 of human prey. The truth is, the animal has 

 been justly described by both ; being such as 

 it is found in places differently peopled or dif- 

 ferently civilized. Wherever the crocodile 

 has reigned long unmolested, it is there fierce, 

 bold, and dangerous ; wherever it has been 

 harassed by mankind, its retreats invaded, and 

 its numbers destroyed, it is there timorous and 

 inoffensive. 



In some places, therefore, this animal, 

 instead of being formidable, is not only inof- 

 fensive, but is cherished and admired. In 

 the river San Domingo, the crocodiles are the 

 most inoffensive animals in nature ; the chil- 

 dren play with them, and ride about on their 

 backs ; they even beat them sometimes, with- 

 out receiving the smallest injury. It is true 

 the inhabitants are very careful of this gentle 

 breed, and consider them as harmless domes- 

 tics. 



It is probable that the smell of musk, which 

 all .these animals exhale, may render them 

 agreeable to the savages of that part of Africa. 

 They are often known to take the part of this 



1 It is a very remarkable observation, that the croco- 

 dile, when it appears out of the water, is almost sur- 

 rounded by various large birds, particularly the pelican. 

 It has been asked, whether there exists the same sym- 

 pathy between these birds (especially the pelican) and 

 the crocodile, which the heron has for buffaloes, oxen, 

 Riid cows ? 



animal which contains the musk, and wear it 

 as a perfume about their persons. Travellers 

 are not agreed in what part of the body these 

 musk-bags are contained ; some say in the 

 ears ; some, in the parts of generation ; but 

 the most probable opinion is, that this musky 

 substance is amassed in glands under the legs 

 and arms. From whatsoever part of the body 

 this odour proceeds, it is very strong and 

 powerful, tincturing the flesh of the whole 

 body with its taste and smell. The crocodile's 

 flesh is at best very bad tough eating ; but 

 unless the musk bags be separated it is in- 

 supportable. The negroes themselves cannot 

 well digest the flesh ; but then, a crocodile's 

 egg is to them the most delicate morsel in 

 the world. Even savages exhibit their epi- 

 cures as well as we ; and one of true taste 

 will spare neither pains nor danger to furnish 

 himself with his favourite repast. For this 

 reason, he often watches the places where the 

 female comes to lay her eggs, and upon her 

 retiring seizes the booty. 



All crocodiles breed near fresh waters ; and 

 though they are sometimes found in the sea, 

 yet that may be considered rather as a place 

 of excursion than abode. They produce their 

 young by eggs, as was said above ; and for 

 this purpose the female, when she comes to 

 lay, chooses a place by the side of a river, or 

 some fresh-water lake, to deposit her brood 

 in. She always pitches upon an extensive 

 sandy shore, where she may dig a hole with- 

 out danger of detection from the ground being 

 fresh turned up. The shore must also be 

 gentle and shelving to the water, for the 

 greater convenience of the animal's going and 

 returning ; and a convenient place must be 

 found near the edge of the stream, that the 

 young may have a shorter way to go. When 

 all these requisites are adjusted, the animal 

 is seen cautiously stealing upon shore to de- 

 posit her burden. The presence of a man, a 

 beast, or even a bird, is sufficient to deter her 

 at that time ; and if she perceives any creature 

 looking on, she infallibly returns. If, how- 

 ever, nothing appears, she then goes to work, 

 scratching up the sand with her fore-paws, 

 and making a hole pretty deep in the shore. 

 There she deposits from eighty to a hundred 

 eggs, of the size of a tennis-ball, and of the 

 same figure, covered with a tough white skin 

 like parchment. She takes above an hour to 

 perform this task ; and then covering up the 

 place so artfully that it can scarcely be per- 

 ceived, she goes back to return again the next 

 day. Upon her return, with the same pre- 

 caution as before, she lays about the same 

 number of eggs ; and the day following also 

 a like number. Thus having deposited her 

 whole quantity, and having covered them close 

 up in the sand, they are soon vivified by the 



