2o6 IN THE INDIAN JUNGLE. 



lively nineteen feet four inches and eighteen feet 

 six inches, the massive tail making up fully one- 

 third of the bulk. 



When we had irritated the females (all small 

 animals under twelve feet) for some time, they 

 began to give off a strong musky odour. This, 

 our Kol guides told us, was to call the bull croco- 

 diles, and true enough, shortly afterwards we saw 

 several of these monsters in the middle of the 

 pool, with just the point of the snout and the 

 dorsal ridge appearing above the surface, but 

 from the height at which we stood we could see 

 their great length in the clear water. Presently the 

 water seemed quite alive with crocodiles, and two 

 monsters showed themselves on the opposite bank. 

 It was of no use shooting at the brutes in the 

 water, as so little of them was to be seen above the 

 surface ; so, sighting my Martini for one hundred 

 and fifty yards, I aimed carefully behind the 

 shoulder of one and fired. Ere the echoes from 

 the neighbouring hills had ceased, the sand bank 

 was quite clear of the great lizards, the unaccus- 

 tomed sound of the explosion sending them tumul- 

 tuously into the deep water. I could see that my 

 shot had taken effect on the opposite bank, as there 

 was a great splashing of water, and every minute 

 or two a great brute would come to the surface 

 and raise his jaws quite clear of the water and snap 

 them viciously together. This occurred several 

 times, and then he drew himself up on to a rock on 

 the opposite bank and there snapped and snapped 

 his teeth for fully five minutes, when he died. 



