THE CROCODILE—THE ALLIGATOR. 335

noises, attracted attention to the spot, when it was discovered
that the eggs had become hatched and the young crocodiles
were quite ready to assume the responsibilities of life. The
natives fled in terror, and the merchant had to take speedy
measures for destroying his unexpected brood. Some species
of the crocodile have been tamed or partially so, the sacred
crocodiles being among these. Accustomed to be fed regularly
by the same hands they gradually become familiar with their
priestly attendants, and to some extent obedient to their
commands. Mungo Park says:—“The crocodiles of the
Congo appear to be of a smaller species, and not so numerous
as those at Old Calabar, where they continually float past the
shipping like large grey pieces of timber, and are so bold
that they frequently seize people in the small canoes. In
Old Calabar river, I once observed a crocodile swimming
with a large cat-fish in its mouth to the opposite shore. It
held the fish by the head, whilst the body was thrown into
a perpendicular position. I watched it with the spy-glass
until it had dragged the fish upon the mud bank, and
commenced its meal.”

The Alligator. The Alligator of which there are some ten
or twelve species known, is found exclusively in America. The
Mississippi Alligator is one of the most familiar of these.
The Alligator is smaller than the crocodile, which it much
resembles in form and habit, though specimens have been
met with which measure twenty-two feet in length. The
Alligator is naturally most abundant in tropical regions.
Captain Brown says: “In the height of the dry season in
torrid regions all animated nature pants with consuming
thirst. A party of wood cutters, English and Irish, went
on one occasion to hunt in the neighbourhood of a lake
called Pies Pond in Beef Island, one of the smaller islands
of the Bay of Campeachy. To this pond the wild cattle
repaired in herds to drink, and here the hunters lay in wait
for them. The chase had been prosecuted with great success