The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-07-12
AUSTRALIAN CROCODILES.

rivers, which is generally termed "alli- gator," though in reality true croco- 1 dile. The head of true alligator is broader and shorter than that of the crocodile. There is also considerable | difference in the teeth, and their dis | position in the jaws. The teeth of the | alligator are unequal, and the larger of | the lower canine enters cavity in the | upper Jaw, while that of crocodile | simply fits into a grove on the out | side of the upper jaw, leaving the tooth clearly visible when the mouth of the monster is closed. There are also diff | ferences in the webbing of the toes and | the form of the legs though to the | general observer there is little or no difference. Crocodiles seem equally at | home in salt or fresh water, while alli- gators don't appear to relish, and rare- ly visit, salt waters The crocodiles no doubt feed largely upon fish, but as they grow older and stronger and re- | qufre great quantities of food, they | will, when hungry, attack anything | from sheep or kangaroo to bullock weighing over half ton Some of l these monsters measure as much as | twentyseven feet in length, and pos | sess immense strength, besides won- derful cunning and patience. It will 1 lie in wait at any watering-place fre- | quented by animals, hardly distin- | guishable from log of wood, so still and impassive it has become. The ani- mel coming down to drink is suddenly seized in the crocodile's huge jaws and | drawn into the water and drowned At | other times the tail is used to sweep l the animal into deep water, where, even though it's prey may be a heavy [ bullock, it has little or no chance against it's enemy, which is specially | provided by nature with an arrange n1ent that prevents the water rushing down it's huge throat, even though it's l jaws are fully distended through hold J ing it's prey. Thus after few brief | seconds the unequal struggle is over, and the saurian takes the carcass in 1 tow to come favored locality, where he can enjoy it at his leisure
 In the early days at Port Darwin, N. E., bathing in the open sea was for bidden, owing to the danger from cro- cdiles, there and nearly everywhere | 1 though in reality no true alligator ex- | ists in Australia. A young trooper named Davis, fine swimmer, disre- 1 garded the general order, and one morning early went for a swim. Far out in the harbor he noticed what he 1 and others tok to be a floating log l Many of the Northern trees float, and
 are washed down in the wet season to
 the open sea. Out went the strong
 swimmer nearer and nearer to the
 supposed log, until too late he recog- niZed his mistake, and that he was ap-
 preaching instead of a log huge and l apparently listlesS crocodile But the knowledge came too late to be of any service to poor Davis, though some men called out to him from a small craft close by Ego back" Ego back"
 and Davis did make an attempt to re-
 treat, and was swimming manfully shoreward when the huge brute flashed
 down upon him at terrific speed and
 opening his great jaws to their utmost
 capacity, came down with smack I that was heard even to the shore, and
 inside their cruel grasp was Trooper Davis head Then, with the quick
 ness common to the saurian it had dis
 appeared with it's victim. Every pos
 sible attempt was made to recover the 1 body but without success, though the
 harbor was soon alive with boats, and
 the water thrashed around for a con- ! siderable time. Though this means
 failed the body was soon afterward found lying on rock, or rather a reef
 some little distance from the scene of { the accident The lowering of the boats and the noise of the beaten wa
 ter had no doubt caused the monster
 to let go his prey.
 Crocodiles at night time low and bel low just like cattle, especially like bulls, and I have spent some nights in an ! open boat in Cambridge Gulf, North
 western Australia, where the whole place seemed to be alive with them, and what with their splashes and cries, the weirdness of the whole scene, and their close proximity as they at times rocked the boat. sleep was impossible, for there are several instances on rec ord where crocodiles have taken or | have attempted to take men from out of camps and boats. A poor fellow named Reed the mate or second mate of the Gulnan, had gone in his vessel to 1 some TlVeE III SdTptuldTld IJulI-l De- lieve the Roper. The vessel was at an- ! chor near the mouth of the river The mate, Reed, had been dispatched in charge of a watering party, and was some distance up the river in a large open boat. Water had been obtained, and they were all ready for a return to the ship. All being made snug the tired 1 fellows turned in, having made their camp in the boat. The night was a ! very fine one, the moon shining bright ly, when toward midnight the sleeping
 camp was aroused by some terrific
 shrieks. These were the cries Of poor Reed, who, snveloped in his bedding and mosquito curtains, was being
 borne off by crocodile. It is said by i those who knew him we'll and accom- | panied him on this and other previous trip that he had the habit of sleeping 1 with his foot on the gun-wale of the boat
 and no doubt this afforded the crocodile an easier opportunity of seizing him.
 All that night and great part of next
 day was spent in searching for the
 missinng mans body but without sue | cess.
 The crocodile has a remarkable eye It can arrange the pupil to a verticle
 or horizontal position at will to suit its
 requirement by day or night. It has
 a special natural protection to the eye