170 THE ALLIGATOR. 



the water. An accident happened at the Drift, about two 

 miles from the mouth of the Umganie, to an Englishman, 

 a very worthy settler. He lived in a little cottage across 

 the river, and was returning one evening with a supply 

 of fresh meat, which he carried with his clothes over his 

 head : the water was about breast-high. Suddenly, when 

 about the middle of the river, he was seized round the 

 waist by the jaws of an alligator. He dropped his meat, 

 and caught hold of the animal's head, calling at the same 

 time to a Kaffir who was near. It was either the shout 

 or the seizing that frightened the creature, for it let go its 

 hold, and the poor man reached the opposite side of the 

 river, where he fainted. The wounds he had received 

 were very severe ; he was three months before he could 

 move about, and never again seemed the same man that 

 he was before this mangling. I often saw an old Kaffir, 

 near the Umganie, who had nearly the whole fleshy part 

 of the thigh torn off by an alligator as he was one day 

 crossing the river. My days and evenings of patient 

 watching were not rewarded by a shot at this rapacious 

 brute. 



The alligator often devours its prey as it comes to 

 drink. Slowly approaching some unsuspecting animal, 

 it seizes it by the nose, and drags it under water ; the 

 weight of the alligator prevents the animal from raising 

 its head; it is in consequence soon suffocated, and is 

 dragged to a convenient retired place until required, or 

 sufficiently high to suit the Epicurean taste of this scaly 

 monster. 



Besides the animals that I have already particularly 



