518 
Beptiles. 
moment the Crocodile perceives him it rushes at him 
with open mouth, but is coolly received by its antago- 
nist, who thrusts his covered arm between its jaws. The 
teeth cannot pierce through the thick folds of the cloth, 
so that his arm only gets a smart squeeze, and before 
the creature can disengage itself, he adroitly cuts its 
throat. 
The Gavials have very long, slender snouts, and their 
hind feet are webbed to the ends of the toes. These 
animals grow to the length of twenty-five feet, and when 
large are as dangerous and destructive as the Nilotic 
Crocodile. They are found abundantly in the Ganges, 
and in the fresh waters of most parts of India and its 
islands. 
A short time before M. Navarette was at the Manillas, 
he was told that, as a young woman was washing her 
feet at one of the rivers, an Alligator seized and carried 
her off. Her husband, to whom she had been but just 
married, hearing her screams, threw himself headlong 
into the water, and, with a dagger in his hand, pursued 
the robber. He overtook and fought the animal with 
such success as to recover his wife ; but, unfortunately 
for her brave rescuer, she died before she could be 
brought to the shore. 
THE ALLIGATOR, OR CAYMAN. 
(Alligator lucius.) 
The habits of the Alligator are much the same as those 
