The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-09-06
A Man.Cr0cOdile.

A n.Cr0cOdlle.
In London they have now on exhibit
ton u semi-amphibious man named
James Swan, whose performances at the
Pavilion in Coventry Street are thus de-
scribed by Frank auckland in Land and
Water:
"When the curtain drew up observ-
ed on the stage pretty large tank, with
a glass front, filled with water. In the
water were floating five living croco-
diles, averaging from four to six feet
long.
s'The band strikes up a lively tune,
and the man-crocodile climbs up lad
der at the side of the tank, and at once
jumps into the water, which comes near
ly up to his neck. He first of all walks
round the tank, and Gas it were) stirs
up the crocodiles, making them swim
about in all directions. There is one
of his aquatic beasts, however, of which
he seems to be in wholesome dread.
This is large swapping turtle, but L
could not get near enough to make out
distinctly of what species he was. Hav-
ing looked around to see where these
reptiles are swimming, Mr.. Swan dives
down to the bottom of the tank, and
quickly Selling Mr.. Swapping Turtle,
brings him up into the air, where he
tlourished him about over his head much
to the delight of the audience and the
discomfort of the turtle. The reptile
having been thus performed with, is al
lowed to go, and he descends with Ia
zy, heavy motion to the bottom of the
water. Mr.. Swan next feels among the
thick of the crocodiles, which have by
this time crawled into one corner. Hav-
ing chosen two of them, he very adroit-
ly takes one in each hand round the
neck. This, | should imagine, was a
very difficult thing to do, as the croco-
diles object considerably; they make
the water boil again with the lashings of
their tails.
"At last firm hold is obtained round
their necks, and they are flourished
about in the air, opening their mouths
and swapping right and left.
| "Mr. Swan then descends again, and
| remains under water for considerable
! time. When under water he drinks,
eats, and writes on slate, in this re-
spect rivaling, if not outdoing, the
Human Frog who performed in Lon
don a few years ago.
"The inscription he writes on the
slate is Swan, the man-crocodile. He
causes the crocodile which he has at the
bottom with him to make pretense to
rub out the writing with his paw. AS
cending again to the surface, Mr.. Swan
is offered a box by the attendants. He
opens the lid of the box, and extracts
therefrom go6d-sized boa constructor.
This he ent" ines round his neck and
chest, and again descends to the bottom,
wearing his serpent necklace. From
the bottom he allows the boa constructor
to ascend and swim about the tank
where he likes. The serpentine mode of
swimming by the boa constructor, as
seen in the water, is highly interesting
The largest of the crocodiles has yet to
be exhibited. Mr.. Crocodile seems to
know from experience quite well what
is coming, so he swims round and round
at q tremendous pace, causing the water
to become so full of bubbles that one
can hardly see what is gong on in the
tank. AT length Swan catches the rep
tile; he has evidently considerable diff
ficulty in keeping hold of this fellow.
who lashes his tail about in a most Won
derful manner.
AT length, after remonstrances with
the crocodile, he manages to get hold
of his head with the right hand and his
tail with the left. He lifts him out OF
the water, and apparently is glad to let
him 60 again, so violently does he strug-
gle for his liberty. Other performances
are then gone through, such as opening
the crocodile's mouth, making the large
snake swim round in q circle, etc.
"This performance is interesting to
those accustomed to feats of diving and
to naturalists. Managers of aquaria
may also take hint from it, inasmucl
that they may learn that crocodiles il
aquaria are really graceful swimmers
and not the lethargic, sleepy brutes thai
one sees basking ike logs of wood ii
shallow water behind iron bars. o.
course the difficulty would be in keeping
these crocodiles in large tanks, that O
the water being always of one tempera
ture, that is 60 degrees to 20 degrees. ;
THE early mornings witness the gath