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have betrayed my presence. He was an exceptionally cunning and cautious animal, which I had been after for weeks, and apparently after waiting for some time in the shelter of a small bush, he turned back into the jungle. I sat up patiently expectant until ten o'clock, when I gave up my vigil as a bad job, and went to sleep. I was awakened in the early hours of the morning by the sound of a large body approaching through the undergrowth from the direction of the river. I could not imagine what was the cause of the noise, as I had never before heard anything like it. The movement was slow and hesitating, almost as if some heavy body was being dragged along the ground. But I had not long to wait in my perplexity. A narrow crescent moon sent out a few faint rays, which just showed up the carcase below me, and then the bushes in front of me parted, and a great shining object, elongated and diamond-shaped, slid down the bank above the "kill," and I realised that a huge mugger" had winded the very offensive carcase, and had come along to enjoy a hearty meal. With a loud snap of his mighty jaws he seized a shoulder, and began to tug at it with might and main. This was too much for me, as the stench of the putrid meat below the tree became too overpowering for description when well shaken, and I hastened to put an end to the entertainVOL. COXV.-NO. MCCCII.

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ment. I was firing almost vertically down, and my bullet must have struck the creature in the fleshy part of the side, doing but little damage, though a copious blood-spoor was left, which, after daylight, I followed for 300 yards back to the river through the luxuriant vegetation of a maze of islands.

There is one point I would like to make quite clear. I have just mentioned that when approaching, this crocodile made a sound like a large body being dragged through the cover. Previously I have said that on dry land the crocodile waddles along with his body off the ground, when only a slight dragging sound might be produced by his tail, which does fall behind him. By this I meant more or less level ground, free from thick cover. Among the broken land and thick scrub of these islands, his only possible means of progression was to drag himself along on his belly. These crocodiles attain an enormous length when old, and often live to a great age. I believe specimens have been secured as much as thirty feet in length, and I know that very large ones could always be obtained in the Sundarbans. They are essentially creatures of the rivers and lakes of the plains, and do not ascend the streams to any great height, though there is a certain mountain in Nyasaland some thousand feet high which has a lake in the centre of its crater, and this lake is just alive with crocodiles. No one

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knows how they got there: matter which variety it may the only theory I have ever heard is that the lake may have a subterranean channel or passage which connects it with rivers or lakes elsewhere.

While on service in Palestine from 1918 to 1920, I made many investigations in regard to the Palestine crocodile, which used to inhabit a few of the small streams which flow into the Mediterranean. This subject has led to much controversy, as there are still several people who people who believe the species is not extinct, though I never came across any satisfactory evidence to show that any had either been seen, killed, or handled for several decades. Claims, of course, there were many, but I am afraid that all must be relegated to the long list of travellers' tales. I am, however, absolutely in accord with those whose investigations have led them to believe that these crocodiles were never indigenous to the country, but were originally imported from Egypt.

This concludes my experiences with the "mugger," while the pursuit of the Gharial or Fish-eating Crocodile, though providing excellent and strenuous sport, does not furnish such a diversity of incidents as does his carnivorous cousin under similar circumstances. Usually the account of one such expedition should suffice to give a good idea of what is likely to occur. I should mention before proceeding further, that in shooting at a crocodile, no

be, the safest shot is at the neck, and if that portion of the body is accurately struck in the right place, there is no possibility of the great brute getting away. A high-velocity bullet striking this amphibious monster in the neck will most certainly damage the spine and paralyse the brute-if not killed outright-long enough to enable a boat to get to and safely secure him. This paralysing effect will prevent all the muscular action which almost certainly follows when a crocodile has been hit elsewhere, and which usually entails the loss of one's trophy, even though mortally hit. A shot in the head with a solid bullet will undoubtedly kill him, but as it often lacks the paralysing effect of a spine shot, there will probably be a frantic flick of the powerful tail, which will be sufficient to propel the brute into the water and lose him for ever. In the fast-flowing rivers patronised by the fish-eater, once a mortally wounded one has regained the water, it is quite hopeless to expect to see him again. Another shot which has a paralysing effect is at the tail, but it is not nearly so successful, nor do I recommend it; for, unlike the neck shot, there is not a well-defined target at which one can take aim. The shorter the range, naturally the more successful one is likely to be, and I rarely fired at ranges of more than 150 yards. In a boat floating quietly

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down-stream, one could often approach very close to these monsters when they were lying on the sand banks in mid-stream. There is much against the sportsman, as he rarely gets a very steady shot; but it is astonishing how quickly one gets into the way of making accurate allowance for the movement of the boat, and how often one's shots meet with complete success. I have frequently known body shots just behind the shoulder to be successful; but this was probably due to the fact that the spine was touched, and so paralysing the brute, which prevented him making that final exasperating dive into the water. Gharial is wounded slightly and re-enters the water, if cover is available within reasonable range of the bank on which he was originally lying, it will be advisable to hide and wait for him to come out on to the bank again. He is almost certain to do so, as the little fish -off whose bigger relatives he usually feeds-swarm round and commence nibbling at the raw flesh in the wound. This eventually irritates the crocodile so much that usually he finds it quite impossible to remain in the water for long, and he has to emerge once more on to the dry land to escape from the attentions of his tiny tormentors.

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If the Gharial is hunted much he soon becomes exceedingly wary, which makes his pursuit an arduous pastime. One can make a trip of several days or just spend a day on a particular river where they are plentiful. One can go up-stream and float back; or one can go down-stream and land at some other spot, and then return by land to the place from which one started. The main point to bear in mind is the fact that up-stream work means towing, and the only chance of getting a shot at a Gharial is by locating one some way ahead, and stalking him from the bank of the river if the cover is suitable. By this method I have secured quite a number, especially when they are too shy to allow boats to approach within range for a reasonable shot. It is when floating down-stream that most of the shooting is done, and This type provides a most when likely targets are certain excellent skin for tanning. I to present themselves. I do have always achieved splen- not fancy this variety attains did results by skinning these a much greater length than scaly monsters as soon as pos- 15 or 16 feet; at any rate, I

have never seen any larger specimens, though I have seen at least a hundred killed. The majority of them come out of the water when the sun is hot and well up in the sky, and lie and bask on the mud or sand-banks situated either at the sides or in the centre of the stream, though most of them keep to the banks far out in the water, probably for safety. At the same time, I have frequently seen fine large specimens on the banks and out of the water shortly after the chill grey dawn!

I was often astonished by the pluck or possibly was it foolhardiness-displayed by the boatmen on the Indus at Dera Ismail Khan. I have frequently seen them leave the boat and get into the shallow water on a partially submerged bank in order to fix a rope on to a half-paralysed Gharial which had regained his native element after being hit in the wrong place, and which had been located in the water from the boat with the aid of a long pole. On such occasions the wounded brute will quite naturally snap at anybody or anything that comes near him. When he is lying disabled out on a bank, it is easy enough to avoid his jaws, but it is a very different matter when he is lying submerged in a few feet of water.

I have also had great fun shooting at the tiny Gharials, from 2 to 4 feet in length, which are usually extremely plentiful in such rivers. A

miniature rifle is the best weapon for this form of sport, and it is extraordinary what large specimens can be bagged with a low velocity 22 bullet, if hit in the right place-the neck. Native taxidermists often stuff and set up whole these curious little creatures, which make interesting and handsome trophies to hang on the walls of a bungalow.

I have also heard the Gharial utter a hoarse grunting noise when wounded. Only sweepers and the members of certain low-class gipsy tribes will skin them, and I well remember the sweeper of a certain padre in Ferozepur, who not only undertook to skin any crocodiles brought to the compound where he lived, but also prepared the skins of even the very largest for setting up. The day of reckoning arrived, however, when the padre very nearly had to evacuate his bungalow on account of the stench emanating from several large and putrid skins which were eventually discovered in the vicinity of the servants' quarters. The sweeper was bundled out there and then, together with all his offensive protégés.

There used to be a most enthusiastic little shikari, one Moogloo by name, who accompanied sportsmen from the Kaisar-i-Hind Bridge over the River Sutlej at Ferozepur. Though a child in years, he was a regular prince amongst crocodile shikaris. He had eyes like a hawk, and his word was

law. It was almost pathetic ties are generally few and far to see his disappointed expres- between. sion when a miss had been made, which I am sure upset him far more than it did the sportsman responsible for the calamity! I wonder what has happened to him, and whether he still proves a cheerful and willing companion when in pursuit of the "Fish-eater," now Fish-eater," now that he has grown up.

It is very paying to secure a large number of skins and sell them to the North-West Tanneries; but speed in getting the skins to the factory is essential, and when shooting on the great rivers where the Gharial abounds, railway facili

In both varieties the teeth are more or less hollow, which shows that they are used for seizing their prey and not for biting it up. The "mugger,” whose teeth are placed rather unevenly around his jaws, has teeth about the size and shape of 577 bullets, and tears his victims apart, swallowing each portion whole. The Gharial has a long narrow snout 18 inches to 2 feet in length, thickly supplied with sharp brittle teeth both on top and below like a dog's canines, for seizing its finny prey, which is then swallowed.

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