BIG GMIE 83 



hunter and gluttony on the part of the hunted. 

 A much more chivalrous way of dealing with 

 that unalluring animal — known to natural his- 

 torians as " mugger " or " ghayal," according 

 as its nose is of the retrousse or Roman variety 

 — is for the sportsman to sit on the edge of the 

 swamp, dangle his bare legs over the water, 

 and patiently await results. When the croco- 

 dile creeps up through the ooze and slime to 

 sample the meal which a kindly Providence 

 seems to have placed within its reach, and 

 opens its jaws with an expression of hopeful 

 expectancy, the hunter must withdraw his legs 

 as abruptly as possible, and catch the disap- 

 pointed saurian a shrevv^d buffet over the side 

 of the head with a hatchet. The delivery of 

 this death-blow requires careful judgment and 

 an unusual amount of dexterity. By striking 

 too soon the sportsman may miss the reptile 

 altogether and overbalance into the swamp; 

 if, on the other hand, he waits too long, he will 

 probably have his legs bitten off short at the 

 knees, and be compelled to cable home for a 

 pair of artificial limbs before he can once more 

 assume his accustomed place in society.* 



The capture of wild beasts by means of con- 



* In order to obviate this, many sportsmen don those 

 patent tooth-proof aluminium leggings knoTVTi to the trade 

 as " ali-gaiters/' 







