The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-09
THE CLASSICAL CROCODILE,
Modern Confirmation of the Ancient
TOOthpfck story.

TOOtbpfclx story.
To say that the crocodile has seen his
best days is but feebly to express the
rapidly with which he Is lapsing into the
class Of extinct animals. As a feature of
modern Egypt he is perhaps rather a Gu
riosity than plague aud the traveller
has to get far beyond the regions OF the
delta before he can begin to hope for the
chance OF being introduced to one. Croc-
odile stories are no longer told: in fact.
1t is safer to trust to the sea serpent.
Nothing can make the crocodile attrac-
tive. and even the man with the camera
is shy Of treating him as subject,
whether for personal or artistic reasons Is
not quite clear. Possibly the crocodile re-
sents being focused, as he formerly
shrank from conformation with morror
An ordeal which often led to his dying
OF chagrin, as was supposed, at sight OF his
own ugliness. Moreover, the experienced
photographer is wise In taking no risks"
remembering that the crocodile's tears are
only a natural solvent which the saurian
applies to the tougher forms Of animal
food.
toothpick properly comes in. Herodotus
noticed the fact, but seems to have been
misled as to the motive. He discovered
that the crocodile made friends with
particular bird. which he allowed to enter
his mouth in order, as the writer suppos-
ca, 10 Tlu the reptile OF the leeCueS winch
infested his jaws. Pliny says nothing Of
these pests, but considers the complai-
sance of the crocodile to be due to the sat
sfaction he felt in having his teeth picked
by the bird. He taketh so great delight
in this her scraping and securing of his
teeth and chaws." Both authors speak of
the bird as a wren; later naturalists de-
scribe 1t as being as large as a thrush;
while 1T has been reserved for the present
generation of travellers to identify this
useful friend of the crocodile as the spur
winged plover. OF the fact of the alli-
ance there is not the least doubt The
operation has been frequently witnessed
by numerous independent observers. one
of the latest OF whom considers that the
bird does actually perform the function Of
a toothpick, "a process which the croco-
ollie enjoys" With such confederation
the narrative of Herodotus subject to
qualifications, as 1t must be, is at least to
be taken seriously, and no longer regarded
as the visionary idea Of a mere fabulist
In the Egyptian hieroglyphics the croco-
ollie Is represented by single wavy line.
so perfectly suggestive of the contour of
the animal that it IS quite impossible to
escape from its meaning. 1t might stand
as an excellent contemporary illustration
of the text of Herodotus, neither author
nor artist oversteppng the modesty of ma
ture. This was reserved for later times
In which arose so many of the myths and
extravagances which we are ready to i'm
pute to the lack of practical knowledge
by the classic writer's. When Fuller lri-
cubrated so learnedly of the crocodile he
doubtless felt that he was correcting the
erroneous ideas Of an earlier period. and
the following example of his erudition may
serve to show how he set about the task:
1.-THE sovereign power of saffron Is plain
ly proved by the antipathy of the croco-
ollie thereto; for the croeodile's tears are
never true, save when he is forced where
saffron groweth; whence he hath the
name of saffron-fearer, knowing himself
to be all poison, and 1t all antidote." AS
to this legend Of the crocodile's tears II
can only be regarded as myth grated
upon some of the reptiles observed hab-
it's. Probably because they could offer
less resistance to his attacks, women and
children were especially liable to them.
the office of the former as water-carrers
bringing them often to the Nile and the
children naturally finding playground
on its shores.
Herodotus gives an amusing account of
the manner in which the Egyptian
brothers of the angel used to fish for
crocodile, from which 1t would seem that
they had taken leaf out of the reptiles
own book of strategy. They baited the
hook with large piece of hogs flesh.
with which they made a real anglers
cast into the middle of the river. And
they employed special and alluring form
Of ground bait consisting of young and
vigorous porker, whom they anchored
Irish fashion, on the bank, and melted by
divers irritating arts into energetic saueli-
ing. Entranced with the melodious sound
the crocodile was drawn in the direction
from which 1t came, and being unable to