30 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
collector of the district, James Agnew Farrel, Esq., 
he ordered a general search for the amphibious 
monster; which on the second day proved suc¬ 
cessful ; for just as our picnic party was about to 
sit down to dinner, two carts lashed together, and 
containing the body of the animal, which was 17^ 
feet in length, were driven to the door. We had 
it removed instantly to the sea-side, and opened ; 
when the body of a native, already a mass of 
putrefaction, was taken out, and a coroner’s inquest 
held upon the spot.” 
This is direct and interesting evidence, as we 
have not only the description of an eye-witness, but 
the length of the crocodile is given, 1 feet. We 
thus have an undeniable fact that a creature of that 
length can actually swallow an ordinary human 
being, if it chooses. Crocodiles have been fre¬ 
quently killed in Ceylon that have measured 22 feet, 
and there can be little doubt that this length is 
occasionally exceeded. I have seen the teeth 
sufficiently large to form boxes for carrying per¬ 
cussion-caps, before the days of breechloaders. 
The power of the jaws is terrific, and I have had 
the metal of a large hook, the thickness of ordinary 
telegraph wire, completely bent together, the barbed 
point being pressed tightly against the shank, and 
rendered useless; this compression was caused 
by the snap of the jaws when seizing a live duck 
which I had used as a bait, the hook being 
fastened beneath one wing. The crocodile took 
the bait, but I made a mistake in immediately 
