CURIOUS DWELLERS OF SWAMP AND FOREST. 145 



the smaller ones remain, to form a permanent connection 

 with an individual of whose business activity they have had 

 such convincing proofs. 



6. In fierceness of disposition these saurians seem to 

 vary in just the ratio of their length of jaw, and of their 

 ability to make a wide opening for the accommodation of 

 their friends. The crocodiles of Egypt and India have the 

 longest and most pointed snouts, and are the least amiable 

 of all. They attack man and beast with almost uniform 

 success. They grow to the length of twenty feet, the head 

 comprising about one seventh of the body. Unlike their 

 American cousins, they prefer the flow of the streams to 

 the stagnant waters of the swamp. 



7. Next to these are the alligators of our Southern 

 States. They grow to a length of about fifteen feet, with 

 a nose a little less pointed than that of the crocodile. 

 They are formidable enemies, and are dreaded by all who 

 have occasion to visit the swamps. When captured young, 

 they may be partially tamed, and, while small, they are 

 often treated as household pets. But as they grow up 

 they become too voracious for profit, and there is a con- 

 stant danger of the old instinct asserting itself as against 

 their artificial training. So, on the whole, they are not 

 considered desirable members of a civilized community. 



8. The cayman of South America is smaller than the 

 alligator, has a blunter nose, and is less ferocious. He is 

 savage enough, however, and the natives of those regions 

 hold him in great fear. Sometimes a cayman-hunt will be 

 organized on a grand scale, and then, if one is booked and 

 killed, there are great rejoicings. It often happens, how- 

 ever, that the hunted cayman either escapes or in his turn 

 becomes hunter, in which case the rejoicings give place to 

 mourning. 



9. The eggs of these saurians are deposited in the sand 

 near the streams. The cayman pays little attention to 



