ON THE SELANGORE SEA-COAST. 305 



lowing in the soft, hot mud until the water rises again. I got sev- 

 eral specimens by floating quietly down the stream and shooting 

 them before they were aware of our proximity. The largest ones 

 however, were too smart to be taken in that way, and having be- 

 come convinced of this fact by the failure of several attempts to 

 shoot a well-known individual of large size, I determined to go 

 a-fishing for him. 



Acting under the advice of a Chinese fisherman who seemed to 

 know how to catch crocodiles with a hook and line, we got a rattan 

 about forty feet long for a line, and a dry cocoanut to tie at one end 

 as a float. The Chinaman then proceeded to make an " alir," such 

 as the Malays use in Sarawak, by whittling an inch piece of tough 

 green wood ten inches long into a shape something like a crescent, 

 sharp at both ends and with a groove running round the stick at 

 the middle, which was the thickest part, where the line was to be 

 attached. 



Some soft but very tough green bark was then procured from 

 the jungle, and braided into a line six feet long, which was at one 

 end fastened firmly round the middle of the ahr, and at the other 

 to the long rattan rope. This bark line was supposed to be so 

 soft and tough no crocodile could bite it in two. The bait used 

 was the body of a sting ray caught by one of the fishermen, which 

 was lashed securely to the alir, one end of which was then bent up 

 close to the bark line and tied to it with a bit of string that could 

 be broken by a slight pulL The intention was that the alir should 

 be swallowed point foremost, and when we pulled on the line the 

 upper point would catch in the side of the stomach, break the 

 string and instantly bring the ahr crosswise in the crocodile's 

 interior. 



The crocodile we wanted to catch was well known by his re- 

 peated appearance at the village, within stone's throw of the houses, 

 and he was described as being a perfect monster, with a throat large 

 enough to swallow a large-sized man instantly. The villagers man- 

 ifested great interest in our effort, and helped us in every possible 

 way. 



We took our tackle just far enough above the village to be out 

 of sight, for we wanted our victim to have so good an opportunity 

 that he would not feel bashful. Following the custom of the 

 Malays we found an overhanging branch, quite low down, over the 

 end of which we threw our line so that the bait hung within six 

 inches of the water at high tide, and so adjusted that a veiw sHght 

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