The crocodile shows its
recognition of the service by never harming the bird."
I have heard that the flies which molest the crocodile are gnats, and their
devourer a kind of plover.
Near Karachi, in India, there is a swamp caused by hot springs, which is
inhabited by crocodiles. There are over two hundred in the tank, which has
been walled in, as they are considered sacred creatures. Buffaloes stand
in the water unharmed, but any other animal which came within reach would
be instantly devoured. A rash young Englishman once made the tour of this
tank, alive with crocodiles, by walking on their horny backs!
Alligator is only the Spanish name for all lizards, so called in allusion
to their having legs like arms. The great American lizard, known by this
name, is not so large as the crocodile; it loves heat, and will bury itself
in the mud in cold weather. It feeds mostly upon fish, and will drive them
before it in a shoal, until they have got into some creek or narrow bend
of the river, and then stun them by blows of its great tail. Mr. Waterton,
who knew the South American rivers so well, tells us that he once came
upon what he thought a pretty sight--a number of young alligators, about a
foot long, playing about on the sand like so many rabbits. He also tells
a story, which might have had a sad ending, saying [Footnote: _Life of
Charles Waterton_, p.56] that when he was anxious to secure an alligator,
which he much wished to stuff, with its tough skin uninjured, he would not
allow his men to shoot at him, but actually jumped upon his horny back and
rode him along the sandy river-bank until the poor creature was tired out,
and the daring rider secured his prize.
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