NATURALIST IN INDIA. 43 



tive legs, and waddling for a few paces, fall flat on his belly. 

 Young ones, from a foot in length and upwards, ran nimbly 

 along the margin of the pond, disappearing suddenly in the 

 turbid waters as soon as we approached. The largest croco- 

 dile lives in a long narrow tank separate from the others. 

 The Fakirs, and natives who worship in the neighbouring 

 temples, have painted his forehead red, — they venerate the 

 old monster, making a salaam to his majesty whenever he 

 shows himself above water. A handsome young Beloochee, 

 whose occupation it was to feed the animals, informed us that 

 the said king was upwards of two hundred years old ! (?) and 

 that, by way of a " tit-bit," he was in the habit of devouring 

 the young crocodiles. During our visit this enormous brute 

 was asleep on the bank of his dwelling-place, and seemed 

 quite indifferent to our presence, although we came within a 

 foot of him, and even attempted to arouse him by rubbing his 

 nose with a leg of goat's-flesh, which, however, a young one 

 greedily seized and dived under water. Our attendant tried 

 in vain to excite their ferocity, but beyond a feeble attempt 

 to snap their trenchant teeth, the animals showed no dispo- 

 sition to attack us. 



A pony was wading about in the pond and feeding 

 on the grassy hiUocks, but the crocodiles took no notice of 

 him. 



The water in the pool felt cold, although fed from two hot 

 springs, one of which was of so high a temperature that I 

 could not retain my hand in it ; yet animal life existed, for 

 I found where the water bubbled up from its sandy bottom, 

 and in the little lade running to the tank, abundance of a 

 species of small black spiral shell, which Mr. Woodward in- 

 formed me is " very like some in the British Museum, named 

 Melania pyramis, an allied species of which frequents the 



