A FEW HINTS ON CROCODILE SHOOTING. 81 
animal that is swimming about in deep water, as it is quite impossible to recover 
it, you only disturb the other animals, besides being unsportsmanlike to kill 
wantonly. When swimming about, they present a very difficult target, as you 
only see the top of the head and snout. This gives you a horizontal target about 
two.inches deep, if a large animal, to get your bullet into. If you alone are shoot- 
ing, tell your harpooner, or whoever you have on the opposite side, to keep a 
sharp look out for animals basking on your side, especially if the banks are steep 
or vertical. As soon as le sees one, he signs to you and then goes and stands 
opposite the animal, well away from the edge, with his harpoon shaft pointing 
straight at the animal. Then you go up and get in line. He now signals 
which way the animal’s head is. Creep up from behind and try and get as nearly 
as possible over him, and put a bullet through his brain. The rifle rest is no 
use here. Usually, just as you catch sight of them, or prébably just before, 
there will be a frantic splash and you may just see the tail disappear under water. 
Occasionally you will bag one this way, and then the satisfaction more than 
makes up for your other disappointments. 
You will very seldom catch a big animal like this. A wind helps you a great 
deal in this sort of work, as the rustling of the leaves and grasses deadens any 
slight noise you may make. Rubber shoes come in handy here. If you are 
wearing heavy boots, you had better take them off when you come near the animal, 
and go in your stockinged soles. Have a harpooner handy, because stalking of 
this sort is usually done in a river with steep banks, and the water is probably 
deep at the edge, or gets deep very quickly, and you want to harpoon your animal 
while he is struggling at the top. 
If you happen to know a place where the crocodiles are used to 
frequenting shallows or submerged sandbanks, and they are not visible 
when you arrive on the scene, the procedure to adopt is as follows :— 
Fix up your rifle rest in a suitable spot and get ready. Then give some one the 
signal to fire a shot into the water. A rifle shot is best, but a gun will usually 
do the trick. Crocodiles are gifted with curiosity, and almost at once you will 
see their heads come up to see what is going on. Now select one over a shallow 
part, preferably one looking away from you, and shoot him through the head, 
A good maxim when shooting crocodiles is never to fire at a crocodile with only 
one cartridge in the rifle. You never know when you may require a second or 
third shot in a hurry. Even if you have cartridges with you, you will almost 
certainly have to expose yourself in reloading. With a wounded animal this does 
not much matter, but now and again, especially if there is a strong wind blowing, 
and there are several animals up, all will not bolt at the first shot, but if you 
expose yourself immediately after, they certainly will. 
Although you have a gun with you, don’t shoot birds while after crocs, as 
you only disturb the animals and make them shy. Shoot your birds early in the 
morning or after the animals have gone down in the evening. Also, on no account 
whatever take a padre or a dog with you. Short snouters are very partial to 
dogs and dogs are thirsty creatures. They are also apt to trot down to the 
water just as you are nearing the completion of an arduous stalk, and then 
away go the animals and your temper with them. As regards the padre, when 
you have badly wounded an animal and through some fault of one of your men, 
you look like losing it, the air is apt to get hazy in your vicinity ; also, you have 
those two most execrable of all living birds,theBrahminy duck and the Red wattled 
Lapwing, to destroy your temper. I think the most saintly person ever born 
would get frantic with fury if he was trying to stalk a crocodile and a couple of 
these lapwings saw him and started screaming at him that it was a “‘pity to do it,” 
or if a pair of Brahminies started trumpeting as soon as he came in sight of them, 
and it is very hard indeed to keep out of sight of these birds. Many a time have 
I felt that I would give a good deal to have the necks of these vile creatures in a 
half hitch of stout cord, one end of which was fastened to a good stout stake, 
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