112 CLASSIFICATION OF AMPHIBIANS* 



rivers of Senegal, the crocodiles are less numerous, but 

 more dangerous than those of America ; and yet it is a 

 common thing, of every day occurrence, for the negroes 

 to attack them without fear. As soon as they perceive 

 a crocodile out of the water, they go up boldly to him, 

 and either kill him with spears, or strike into his mouth, 

 when he opens it, an iron harpoon, w^hich at once pins 

 him to the ground. Some, continues the same writer, 

 are even bold enough to attack these animals in their 

 native element, by diving beneath, and stabbing him in 

 the belly ; this, indeed, requires a degree of courage 

 not to be looked for among civilised Europeans. Bosc, 

 the well-known naturalist who travelled in North Ame- 

 rica, says that he often met numerous troops of croco- 

 diles or caymans when upon some of the rivers, and in 

 the marshy savannahs of that country. He says, with- 

 out the least pretension or bombast, that he used to 

 amuse himself by making them issue from their retreats, 

 and run towards him, by causing his dog to bark and 

 yelp on the banks. Sometimes he would suffer them to 

 approach near enough to strike them wdth a stick, but 

 although this did not appear to scare them, they never 

 attempted to attack bun ; on the contrary, if they did 

 not perceive any of their usual prey in the vicinity, 

 they w^ould slowly and gravely walk back again into the 

 water. On the Carolina negroes perceiving any of these 

 reptiles upon land, they endeavour to intercept their 

 retreat, and proceed to kill them wath their iron tools or 

 hatchets, in order to feast upon the tail. They are, in 

 short, when upon land, decidedly tuuid animals, and so 

 far from attacking man, they fly from his presence. 

 ^Ve often met with them in the same country as Mr. 

 AVaterton, but they were so timid, that had we been 

 disposed to perform such ridiculous feats as that tra- 

 veller narrates, our compassion for the poor animals 

 would have prevented us. 



( ] 1 .5.) The tortoises and turtles generally (Chklonides) 

 have such a peculiar form, that they must be known to 



