Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-02-01
CROCODILE OF THE CLASSICS.
Abundant Modern Confirmation of His
Reality and Righteousness.

Abundant Modern Confirmation Of His
Reality and righteousness.
TO say that the crocodile has seen
his best days is but feebIy to express
the rapidity with which he is lapsing
into the class of extinct animals. AS a
feature of modern Egypt he is perhaps
rather curiosity than a plague, and
the traveller has to g:t far beyond the
regions OF the Delta before he can be-
gin to hope for the chance of being
introduced to one. Crocodile stories
are no longer told; in fact, it is safer
to trust to the sea serpent. Nothing
can make the crocodile attractive and
even the man with the camera is shy
OF treating him as a subject, whether
for personal or artistic reasons is not
quite clear. Possibly the crocodile
resents being focused as he formerly
shrank from conformation with
mirrOr-an ordeal which often led to
his dying Of chagrin, as was supposed,
at the sight of his own uglinesS. More
over the experienced photographer is
wise in taking no risks remember
natnra. solvent which the saurian ap-
plies TO tie tougher forms of animal
food
And thisjs where the legend of the
tO0thpic1 properly comes in. HerOdo-
tus noticed the fact, but seems to
have been misled as to the motives
He discovered that the crocodile made
friends with particular bird, which
he allowed to enter his mouth in order
as the writT supposed, to rid the rep
tile OF theleeches which infested his
jaws. Piny says nothing of these
pests. but considers the cOmplaisance
of the crocodile to be due to the salts
faction 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 jaws" Both
authors speak of the bird as a wren;
later naturalists described it as being
as large as a thrush while it 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 witness
ed by numerous independent observers,
one of the latest Of whom considers
that the bird does actually perform the
functions Of a toothpick "a process
which the crocodile enjoys With
such Confederation the narration of
Herodotus, subject to qualifications as
IT must be, is at least 10 be taken ser
iously and 70 longer regarded as the
visionary idea of mere fabuliSt.
In the Egyptian hieroglyphics the
crocodile is represented by single
vavy line, so perfectly suggestive of
the contour of the animal that it is
quite impossible to escape from it's
meaning. 1t might stand as an excel
lent contemporary illustration of the
text of Herodotus, neither author nor
artist 0yerstepping 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 impute to the lack of prac-
teal knowledge by the classic writer's.
When Fuller lucubrated so learnedly
of the crocodile he doubtless felt that
ne 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: The
sovereign power of saffron is plainly
proved by the antipathy of the croco-
ollie thereto: for the crocodile's tears
are never true, save when he is forced
where saffron groweth: whence he
hath the the name of saffron fearer.
knowing himself to be all poison and
il all antidote.' AS to this legend of
the crocodile's tears it can only be re-
garded as a myth grated upon some
Of the reptiles observed habits. Prob
ably because they could offer less re-
Slstance to his attacks. women and
children were especially liable to them
the office Of the former as water car
riers bringing them often to the Nile
and the children naturally finding a
playground on its shores
Herodotus gives an amusing account
OF the manner in which the Egvptiar
brothers of the angle used to fish fol
crocodile, from which it would seem
that they had taken leaf out of the
reptiles own book of strategy. They
baited the hook with a large niece n
hogs flesh, with which they made {
real anglers east" into the middle O.
the river. And they employed a yer,
special and alluring form of GROUND
bait, consisting of a vigorous youns
porker. whom they anchored Irisl
fashion on the bank and melted h.
divers irritating arts into energetic
squealing. Entranced with the melodi