32 THE ALLIGATOR. 



ANOTHER species, the MARGINED CROCODILE (Crocodilus margindtus], resides in the 

 rivers of Southern Africa. It may be distinguished from the Egyptian species by the 

 great concavity of the forehead, and the strong keels of the dorsal or back plates. I 

 am indebted to Captain Drayson, R. A., author of " Sporting Scenes among the Kaffirs." 

 for the following account of the Margined Crocodile and its habits, from which it ap- 

 pears that the reptile is formidable not only to the creatures on which it usually feeds 

 but to man himself : 



" About two or three miles from the Bay of Natal there is a river called the Umganie ; 

 into this rive a lake called the Sea-cow Lake empties itself. The lake was, during my 

 residence at Natal, the retreat of several hippopotami and Crocodiles, both of which were 

 in the habit of treking into the Umganie river. Often when riding round the banks of 

 this lake, I have disturbed two or three Crocodiles, which were stealing amongst the 

 reeds and long grass, in hope of stalking a fat toad or a sleepy guana. Sometimes a 

 scaly reptile might be awakened from his doze by the sound of my horse's feet, and 

 would rush through the long reeds towards his retreat. Their movement is much more 

 rapid than would be supposed from their appearance, and they care nothing for a fall 

 head over tail, but almost fling themselves down the steep banks when alarmed. 



On the banks of the Umganie were several Kaffir kraals, in one of which resided 

 a man who had been roughly treated by a Crocodile. This man, seeing me pass his 

 residence, called to me and asked as a favor that I would watch at a particular part of 

 the river until I shot a rascally Crocodile that had nearly killed him. The Crocodile, 

 he informed me, always made its appearance about sundown, and he hinted that a 

 position might be selected so that the sun would dazzle the Crocodile and prevent him 

 from seeing me. Finding that I was willing to gratify his revenge, he limped out of the 

 inclosure surrounding his huts, and offering me his snuff-gourd, he at my request gave 

 me the following account of his escape. 



He had so frequently crossed the stream below his huts at all times of day, and had 

 seen Crocodiles of small dimensions, that he had become as it were familiarized to 

 them, and did not imagine that there was any danger to be expected from them. One 

 evening, at about sundown, he was wading across the river, the water of which reached 

 above his waist. Suddenly he felt himself seized by the under part of his thigh, whilst 

 he was at the same instant dragged under water. His wife was following him, and 

 seeing him fall she scrambled forward to the place where he had disappeared, and 

 thus caused considerable noise and splashing, which (or something else, perhaps the 

 toughness and bad flavor of the Kaffir) had the effect of making the Crocodile quit his 

 hold on the Kaffir, not however without tearing off great portion of the under-part of 

 his thigh. The man with difficulty escaped to the shore, but he remained a cripple for 

 life, unable to do more than put the toes of his foot on the ground." 



WE now come to the ALLIGATORS, the second family of those huge reptiles which 

 may be known, as has already been mentioned, by the lower canine teeth fitting into 

 pits in the upper jaw. They are divided into three genera, all of which are inhabitants 

 of the New World. They are indiscriminately called Alligators, Crocodiles, or Cay- 

 mans, by the natives or the non-zoological traveller, and there is consequently much 

 difficulty in identifying the particular species. The genus Alligator may be known by 

 the partly webbed toes, the outer toe being free. 



The COMMON ALLIGATOR inhabits Northern America, and is plentifully found in the 

 Mississippi, the lakes and rivers of Louisiana and Carolina and similar localities. It is 

 a fierce and dangerous reptile, in many of its habits bearing a close resemblance to the 

 crocodiles and the other members of the family. 



Unlike the crocodile, however, it avoids the salt water, and is but seldom seen even 

 near the mouths of rivers, where the tide gives a brackish taste to their waters. It is 

 mostly a fish-eater, haunting those portions of the rivers where its prey most abounds, and 

 catching them by diving under a passing shoal, snapping up one or two victims as it 

 passes through them, tossing them in the air for the purpose of ejecting the water which 

 has necessarily filled its mouth, catching them adroitly as they fall, and then swallowing 



