Chap. IX.] 
CBOCODILES. 
285 
incident indicative of some reality in this piece of folkr 
lore, once came under my own observation. One morn- 
ing, about sunrise, when riding across the sandy plain 
near the old fort of Moeletivoe, we came suddenly upon 
a crocodile asleep under some bushes of the Buffalo- 
thorn, several hundred yards from the water. The 
terror of the poor wretch was extreme, when it awoke 
and found itself discovered and completely surrounded. 
It was a hideous creature, upwards of ten feet long, and 
evidently of prodigious strength, had it been in a con- 
dition to exert it, but consternation completely para- 
lysed it. It started to its feet and turned round in a 
circle hissing and clanking its bony jaws, with its ugly 
green eye intently fixed upon us. On being struck 
with a stick, it lay perfectly quiet and apparently dead. 
Presently it looked cunningly round, and made a rush 
towards the water, but on a second blow it lay again 
motionless and feigning death. We tried to rouse it, 
but without effect, pulled its tail, slapped its back, 
struck its hard scales, and teased it in every way, but 
all in vain ; nothing would induce it to move till acci- 
dentally my son, then a boy of twelve years old, tickled 
it gently under the arm, and in an instant it drew the 
limb close to its side and turned to avoid a repetition of 
the experiment. Again it was touched under the other 
arm, and the same emotion was exhibited, the great 
monster twisting about like an infant to avoid being 
tickled. The scene was highly amusing, but the sun was 
rising high, and we pursued our journey to Moeletivoe, 
of a stick pats the creature gently 
on the head for a time. The ope- 
rator then boldly mounts astride 
upon its shoulders, and continues to 
soothe it with his one hand, whilst 
with the other he contrives to pass 
a rope under its body, by which it 
is at last dragged on shore. This 
story serves to corroborate the nar- 
rative of Mr. Waterton and his 
alligator. 
