Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-10-27

thing that can catch It cats It. The
eggs are sucked whenever found by
creatures of the weasel kind, and
where such exist, by turtles. As o
as the little reptile is Matched, fish swal-
low it, birds peck it up, the ichneumon
eats it. Yet in spite of such q universal
conspiracy against it the species always
manages to maintain a sufficient num-
bel alive to make itself the o%verruling
terror of the water it haunts, and by
and by avenge itself by ruthless and
omnivorous destruction upon each and
all of the orders of creation chat had
vainly and greedily combined for its
extinction in infancy, Reptiles bask-
ing on the bank, birds floating uponthe
animals drinking at the river or wading
in it; all pay tribute to it; and just as at
its birth the crocod lie was safe from
nothing that had breath. so now moth
ing that has breath is safe from the
crocodile. An egg and a baby alligator
would, therefore. be curious commen-
taries upon the after-life of the danger
Gus amphibian. and might in themselves
teach at a glance a whole page of
natural history. But there are many
other details of crocodile life that are
very striking. For instance, the 'mon-
itor" lizard warns it's larger kinsmen of
approaching danger by plunging itself
precipitately through the reeds and into
the water with a splash, but neverthe-
less avails itself of its companionship
with the crocodile to eat its eggs and
young. There is a delightful moral
somewhere or other about this fact, the
Jealous sycophant that will not let 9TH
ers plumber the great man but is not so
Jealous after all as to be disinterestcd.
Then, again, there is the sic-sac plover,
who is the friend of Leviathan-so far,
at any rate, as finding a meal within its
leech-infested jaws and on is insect
swarming scales makes it so selfishly
am able-the bird that tradition has as
ISOLATED by such curious tictions with
it's grim companion. Spenser, for in
stance, was pleased to see in this
reciprocal exchange of benefits an in
stance of 1.-The small constraining the
mighty" for he tells us how beside
the fruitful shores of muddie Nile, Upon
q sunny bank outstretched lay, in mon
s.rous length, a mightie Crocodile,
That, Grand with guiltless blood its
greedie pray, OF wretched people trav-
ailing that way, Thought all things less
than his disdainful pride" But by and
by came ga little bird cal'd Tedula,
the least of thousands which on earth
abide," and ''forst this hideous beast to
open wide The grisely gates of his de-
vouring hell, And let him feede, as Ma
ture did provide, Upon his jawes, that
with blacke venime SWELL" Moore,
again, sees in it a symbol of audacity:
"Ihe puny bird that dares, with teasing
hum, Within the crocodile's stretched
jaws to come" Of course the bird
really visits the great reptile for the
same reason that starlings and other
birds follow cattle in a n.eadow-to
catch the insects which are disturbed by
the passage of the animals or attracted
to them; and Herodotus' explanation
comes as near the whole truth as is nee.
essary: Gas the crocodile lives chiefly
in the river it has the inside of its mouth
constantly covered with leeches. Hence
it happens that while all other birds
and beasts avoid it, with the trochilus ii
lives at peace, since it owes much to
that bird; for the crocodile, when he
leaves the water and comes out upon
the land, is in the habit of lying with its
mouth wide open, facing the western
breeze. At such times the trochilus goes
into his mouth and devours the leeches.
This benefits the crocodile. who ID
pleased, and takes care not to hurt the
trochilus.". Sponsors tedula and
Herodotus' trochilus are the '~'sic-sac
plover, 1.-THE Charadrius Egyptius, one
of the most familiar objects of the banks
of the Nile.-London Telegraph.