' 



30 THE INDIAN CROCODILE. 



a kind of harpoon is employed, is described by Dr. Riippell : " The most favorable 

 season is either the winter, when the animal usually sleeps on sand-banks, luxuriating 

 in the rays of the sun, or the spring, after the pairing time, when the female regularly 

 watches the sand islands where she has buried her eggs. The native finds out the 

 place, and on the south side of it, that is, to the leeward, he digs a hole in the sand, 

 throwing up the earth to the side which he expects the animal to take. Then he con- 

 ceals himself, and the Crocodile, should it fail to observe him, comes to the accustomed 

 spot and soon falls asleep. 



The huntsman then darts his harpoon with all his force at the animal, for in order 

 that its stroke may be successful, the iron ought to penetrate to the depth of at least 

 four inches, in order that the barb may be fixed firmly in the flesh. The Crocodile, 

 on being wounded, rushes into the water, and the huntsman retreats into a canoe, with 

 which a companion hastens to his assistance. A piece of wood, attached to the har- 

 poon by a long cord, swims on the water, and shows the direction in which the Croco- 

 dile is moving. The huntsman, pulling at this rope, drag the beast to the surface 

 of the water, where it is again pierced by a second harpoon. . . . 



When the animal is struck, it by no means remains inactive ; on the contrary, it 

 lashes instantly with its tail, and endeavors to bite the rope asunder. To prevent 

 this, the rope is made of about thirty separate slender lines, not twisted together, but 

 merely placed in juxtaposition, and bound round at intervals of every twe feet. The 

 thin lines get between the teeth or become entangled about them." 



In spite of the great strength of the reptile, two men can drag a tolerably large one 

 out of the water, tie up his mouth, twist his legs over his back, and kill him by driving 

 a sharp steel spike into the spinal cord just at the back of the skull. 



There are many other modes of capturing and killing the Crocodile, such as a hook 

 baited with meat, to which the voracious reptiles are attracted by the cries of a pig, which 

 is pulled by the tail or otherwise maltreated, for the purpose of eliciting those ear- 

 piercing yells which aggrieved swine always produce. The yelping of a dog answers 

 the same purpose, and is used in the same manner. In some cases the negroes are 

 bold enough to engage the Crocodile in its own element, and to attack it with a long 

 knife, which they plunge into the belly. 



The eggs of the Crocodile are about as large as those of the goose, and many in 

 number, so that these terrible reptiles would overrun the country, were they not per- 

 secuted in the earliest stages by many creatures, who discover and eat the eggs almost 

 as soon as they are laid. It is curious that the Crocodile is attended by a bird which 

 warns it of danger, just as the rhinoceros has its winged attendant, and the shark 

 its pilot fish. The Crocodile bird is popularly called the ziczac, from its peculiar 

 cry. 



SEVERAL other species of Crocodiles are known, among which two species are 

 deserving of a short notice, namely, the INDIAN CROCODILE (Crocodilus porbsus), and 

 the AMERICAN CROCODILE (Crocodilus Americdnus}^ As the name of alligator is 

 popularly given these and other reptiles, there is great confusion respecting the precise 

 animal which is under discussion. 



The Indian Crocodile, as its name imports, is an Asiatic species, and is found largely 

 in India. It is sometimes called the DOUBLE-CRESTED CROCODILE, because the head 

 is furnished with two long ridges extending from the front of the eye over the upper 

 jaw. This species is common in Ceylon, and literally swarms in the still waters and 

 tanks, though it is but rarely found in rapid streams, and never except in the low lands, 

 the hill marshes being free from these pests. Respecting this animal, Sir E. Tennent 

 writes as follows : 



" The species which inhabits the fresh water is essentially cowardly in its instinct, 

 and hastens to conceal itself on the approach of man. A gentleman who told me the 

 circumstance, when riding in the jungle, overtook a Crocodile evidently roaming in 

 search of water. It fled to a shallow pool almost dried by the sun, and thrusting its 

 head into the mud till it covered up its eyes, it remained unmoved in profound confi- 

 dence of perfect concealment. 



