The Opelousas courier., 1884-05-10
CROCODILES.
monsters of the Mile Ancient Worship
Of the Replica Friend OF tine Croc.

of the Replica Friend of tine Croc-
eddie.
The most dreaded of the entire
tribe, the largest and most powerful,
is the crocodile Of the Nile, that at
tains :. length Of thirk fec Accord
ing to Sir John Richardson. it appears
to have been well known from the ear
LEST periods, and it even seems to have
been worshipped in Egypt previous to
our historic records of that country.
At Memphis it was treated with the
greatest care by certain priests who
had charge of it, and who nourished it
with abundant food. Sacrifices and
offerings were presented to it; it was
adorned with trinkets and jewels, and
lodged in a lake or basin in the midst
of the temple. Treated in this man
ner the crocodile lost its ferocity, and
became so tame as to be led about in
religious professions and ceremonies.
When the celebrated Greek historian
Herodotus visited Egypt, which was
about four hundred years before the
birth of Christ, the habits of this ami
NAL were wellknoWn. His object was
in a great measure, to investigate the
religious history Of that people, and
therefore he was insensibly led to the
study Of an animal which was SO
mixed up with their sacred rites as the
crocodile. AT that time he informs us
that the inhabitants Of the Thebaid
and the shores Of the Lake Moeris re-
garded these creatures With the high
est reverence. Each person in that
district reared a crocodile, which they
rained up. ~suspending gold and jewels
from its earlids, and adjoining its fore
feet with wings Of gold. They fed it
carefully, and with delicacies, and
when it died it was embalmed and
placed in some ~consecrated repository.
Numerous mummies of young rocco
dies in the British Museum, obtained
from their primitive repositories. after
a lapse of more than a thousand years
since their embalming, and still in
perfect preservation, attest the truth
Of that statement.
The Romans introduced these rep
tiles in their national games at the
Coliseum. The first were imported un-
der the @dileship of scaurus. They
were used in combats. and the willy
brutes doubtless laid low many a no.
Bile Roman for the time being. Under
the Emperor Augustus the circus of
Flaminius was filled with several feet
Of water, thirty-six crocodiles intro
duced, where as many gladiators fought
them for the amusement Of the Roman
populaee. Among old Roman coins.
medals have been found bearing the
imprint of these brutes, that were
probably won in the strange combats.
These monsters are now confined to
the Upper Nile and the small rivers of
Western Equatorial Africa. Here they
are dreaded by every animal with n
exception, that of a friend of the croc-
odiIe, a little bird that enters the
mouth of the great reptile and removes
the ineects that infest 1t. This story
was first told by Herodotus, and Of
course doubted, but later researches
show it to be fact. The following is
a translation of a paper read before
the French Academy Of Sciences, on
the subject: 1T is perfectly true that
there exists a little bird which flies
about perpetually seeking, even in the
mouth of the crocodile, the insects
which form the principal part of its
nourishment." This bird is like a plo-
yer. The odelzd, which thus torment
the crocodiles, and even excite them to
madness, are no other than our Euro
pean gnats. Myrfads of these insects
haunt the banks of the Nile, and when
these giants of its waters repose on
its margin. warming themselves in the
sun, they become the prey of those
insignificant plgraies. The odeIlG Fly
into the crocodiIes' mouth in such
numbers that thy cover the entire
surface of the palate. and form q
brownish crust. These little pests
pierce the tongues of the reptiles with
their stings. It is then that this bird
comes into the mouth of the monster
to catch them, and deliver it from such
innumerable enemies. The crocodile
with d bite could easily destroy the
bird, but he knows too well what he
owes TO this friend to do it an injury,
CrocodiIes Of the Nile are more Vora-
cious than the American aligators,
Hassalquist asserts that in Upper
Egypt they often deyour women who
come to draw water from the Nile, and
children playing upon it's banks. Ge-
ofroy Saint-HiIaire says that in The
Thepaid lie often met with Arabs
wanting an arm OF q leg, who, accused
crocodiles Of their humiliation. Sii
Samuel Baker also mentioned in his