278 SPOET IN BENGAL. 



to have been the attendance of those little birds, which are 

 said to have in their care the tongue and teeth of the croco- 

 dile, but they were absent on this and every other similar 

 occasion of which I have had experience. Preserving the 

 utmost silence, the tide gently swept us up to within fifty 

 yards of the sleeping beauty, whose slumbers were disturbed 

 by a ball behind the fore-paw, and for a moment I thought 

 he was killed outright as he rolled over on his side, but after 

 a struggle he came upon an even keel (nautical term), and 

 waddled into the water with a second ball in his head close 

 to the right eye, the mark showing bright red at once before 

 he dived into the stream with a furious sweep of his tail ; 

 but rising again in the shoal water to breathe as they often 

 do after receiving a severe wound, or doing so unconsciously as 

 frequently happens, it was struck again by a third ball in the 

 back just behind the neck. After this it sank and I feared 

 I had lost it. In ten minutes however, it rose again and 

 made for the shore, which I allowed it to ascend, where its 

 death throes were terrific, as with distended jaws it rolled 

 over and over several times, snapping its teeth and striking 

 with its monstrous tail, exhibiting the most awful rage and 

 agony. For a few instants I neglected to fire on witnessing 

 struggles such as I had never before seen, ended at length by 

 one more bullet between the eyes at short range, and I took 

 possession of one of the very largest crocodiles I had ever 

 seen. He was twenty-two feet in length and was of astonish- 

 ing bulk of body. The head was short compared with his 

 length, and of immense breadth between the eyes and back of 

 the skull. 



This monster could have carried off a tiger as easily as a 

 cat does a rat, and could have bitten in two the body of a 

 man as easily as a boy does an apple. I should have liked 

 much to have secured his bones for the Calcutta Museum, but 

 was unable to do so, and had to be satisfied with the head 

 only, with which and the stag I rejoined the boat, and at once 

 taking advantage of the remaining quarter of the flood, made 

 as much way as was possible before evening set in. 



